On The Run
by TheFndObsCmdn
Summary: Sequel to Final Battle. Tails finds himself on the run after he is accused of robbing a jewelry store, with Shadow leading the manhunt. And Dragon steps into Tails' life again. Recommend reading first story, Final Battle, first. Full summary inside.
1. Suspect

**SUMMARY: **_Three years after Robotnik's death, Tails wakes up with a gun under his pillow and a bag of stolen jewelry under his bed. Problem is, he doesn't remember having those things when he went to bed the night before. Suddenly, Tails is on the run from the authorities, Shadow leading the manhunt for him. Then it all gets worse when Dragon steps into Tails' life again and starts wreaking havoc for Tails while he's on the run. Can Sonic and Tails' father find him and the evidence they need to exonerate Tails? Can they get to him before Shadow does? And how did Dragon survive the bomb?_

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, first off, I'd like to tell any readers that are reading this that this is a sequel to my first Sonic story, Final battle. So, if you read this without reading that story first, this will make very little sense to you. Secondly, to any readers who _have _read the first story, sorry if this story isn't totally at the same quality as the last one. I rewrote this like three times before I finally saw it as fit for posting, but it still feels a little shoddy to me. I'm hoping that it'll get better as i write it more, but I'm kind of blocked right now, so I'm waiting for that bit of inspiration to really get this story going. Okay, one more thing in this long author's note. The first two chapters are a bit slow as they're mostly to set up the story and vaguely fill in the gap of what's happened between the three year gap of the two stories' settings. So, now, please enjoy.**_  
><em>

* * *

><p>Sonic rolled over in bed and felt his arm fall on the soft fur of the body that lay next to him. He turned over onto his side and moved closer to the squirrel next to him. He put his arm under her head and kissed her on the cheek. She was still asleep.<p>

Sonic saw the sunlight flooding the room through the floor-to-ceiling window of the master bedroom of his new, Mobotropolis apartment. He liked this apartment better than the one he had in Station Square. It was nicer, bigger, and he liked Mobotropolis better than Station Square. He had bad memories back in Station Square. The funeral, the bombing, the shooting. He remembered Knuckles in the casket at his funeral. He remembered the pool of blood on the ground around Tails as he lay on the cement, passing out and losing blood after he had just been shot by an assassin. The only good thing that he could remember about that city right now was when he looked out on the horizon and saw the mushroom cloud from the bomb that had killed Robotnik. He even hated that memory because it brought everything else that had happened to the surface.

"Good morning, Sal," Sonic whispered softly into the squirrel's ear as he pushed the bad memories to the back of his head. The squirrel stirred slightly, groaned softly, and put her arms around the hedgehog's neck.

"Sonic, let me sleep," she said tiredly with a yawn. "It's Saturday morning. Just because we just got back from our honeymoon doesn't mean we have to jump back into normal life so eagerly. Why don't we pretend that we're still in that five-star hotel and stay in bed all day?"

"I wish," said Sonic with a chuckle. He looked at the shiny, new wedding ring on his ungloved hand. He held Sally's hand and looked at hers next to his. He smiled and brought her hand to his chest. "But you know me. I could never stay in bed all day."

"What about that first day in the hotel last week?" asked Sally softly with a smile.

"I had something to do," said Sonic with a chuckle. He put his hand on her cheek and brought her lips to his. A few moments later, Sonic pulled away and climbed out of the bed. "I've gotta take a shower and head out."

"Head out where?" asked Sally curiously.

"Shadow said he had a job for me," said Sonic from inside the shower in the next room.

"What kinda job?" asked Sally as she climbed out of the bed.

"I don't know," said Sonic. "He just said that he had something that might be interesting to me. Called me yesterday. I told him I'd be in this morning to talk to him about it." She walked in and smiled at him through the clear, glass shower wall.

"Okay, so are you gonna be long in there?" asked Sally. "'Cause I need a shower, too."

"Well, if you really need it, you can always join me," said Sonic with a smile. He opened the glass door and held a hand out to her

* * *

><p>Miles "Tails" Prower woke up to the sound of his alarm clock. He heard the annoying buzzing of the clock and groaned as he turned toward it. He looked at the alarm clock. Seven in the morning. He concentrated hard on the snooze button and blinked. The alarm stopped as he heard the click of the snooze button being pushed by nothing. Tails smiled as he closed his eyes, thinking about how he could do that. Push the snooze button with nothing but the blink of his eyes.<p>

Since the whole mess with Dragon and Robotnik three years ago, Tails had been studying and experimenting with psychic abilities. He had just made a huge breakthrough about a month ago. He finally had learned how to use Telekinesis. The breakthrough had been an experiment that involved him being able to roll a pen across a table without touching it. Since then, he had been practicing and exploring the newfound ability nonstop. He could feel himself getting stronger with it. The day before, he had successfully opened his bedroom door from his kitchen. But he had trouble closing it again. But he knew he was getting better with his new power.

Tails sighed and thrust his hand up into the air. The blankets on top of him flew off his body and into the air, landing on the floor at the foot of his bed, leaving the bed totally uncovered. He climbed out of bed and opened his door with the wave of his hand. He walked out, waved his hand again to close the door, and walked to the kitchen of his house. For some reason, he felt completely exhausted. He wasn't tired. In fact, he felt wide awake. But every part of his body was sore. Every step he took sent a dull, aching pain through his body. He felt like he had just done a full-on workout through the night.

He walked into the kitchen, opened the freezer, and took out a couple of toaster waffles. He slipped them into the toaster and sat down at the table behind him. He put his head in hands and sighed. Then he smelled something weird. The strange scent was coming from his arm. Tails took a sniff of his arm and pulled away from it immediately after inhaling the strong odor that was emanating from his arm.

"Oh, god," said Tails in disgust. "What the hell is that?"

"Miles, watch your mouth," called a voice from the living room.

"Dad?" Tails called back in confusion. "What are you doing up?"

"I always get up early," replied Amadeus Prower from the next room over. Tails peeked in and found his father sitting on the couch, watching TV.

"I know, I just thought you'd wanna sleep in this morning," said Tails. "Seeing as you're leaving today for a long-term G.U.N. job at noon."

"Couldn't sleep in," grumbled Amadeus. "I woke up at five and couldn't go back to sleep."

"Oh, that sucks," said Tails as he went back into the kitchen.

"So, what's the swearing about in there?" asked Amadeus, not moving from the couch.

"My arm's got this rank smell on it," said Tails. "And it's kinda wet and slippery."

"What's it smell like?" asked Amadeus. Tails took another sniff of his arm.

"I think... lighter fluid?" said Tails uncertainly. "I don't know. I think it's lighter fluid, but..." His voice trailed off.

"Well, whatever it is, you might wanna wash it off," suggested Amadeus.

"Well, yeah, I know that," said Tails. "But it begs the question: Why does my arm smell like lighter fluid?"

"I dunno," said Amadeus. "But, like I said, you might wanna wash it off."

"Good idea," said Tails as he retrieved his waffles from the toaster. "I need a shower." He cut through the living room to head to the bathroom, but he was stopped by his father.

"Whoa, Miles," said Amadeus quickly. "What's that sweet gash in your shoulder blade about?"

"What gash?" asked Tails as he tried to reach for his shoulder blade and twist his head around to look at it. He walked over to the mirror and turned around to look at his back. Sure enough, there was a long slash going down his back from his shoulder blade. Dripping down from the gash was a trail of congealed blood that was caked in his fur. "Holy sh-"

"Miles!" interrupted Amadeus sternly.

"-Izznits," Tails saved himself. He felt the dried cut. It didn't look very deep. "How did that happen? I know it wasn't there before I went to bed last night."

"Does it hurt?" asked Amadeus.

"No, but that blood is gonna be a pain to wash out of my fur," said Tails frustratedly.

"Go check your sheets," said Amadeus. "Maybe you did something in your sleep or something. Whatever happened, it doesn't look too serious. It's not very deep or wide. Just let it heal."

"Okay," said Tails as he headed for his bedroom. He opened the door with a wave of his hand and picked his bed sheets off the floor. They were clean. Not a trace of blood. He looked at the sheet on his mattress and found little bits of congealed blood, no doubt from his fur, but no stains. Tails waved his hand and his pillow was yanked off of the bed. He gasped at what he found under it.

He didn't find blood under his pillow, but he did find a gun. A black gun. A black pistol. A real, black pistol, in his bed, under _his_ pillow.

"What the...?" Tails whispered absentmindedly as he grabbed one of his gloves off the nightstand by his bed. He was surprised to find that it was damp. But it wasn't that it was damp that confused Tails, but, judging by the smell, it was damp with lighter fluid.

Tails dropped the glove out of surprise and looked back at the gun. He reached out to it with his mind and picked it up. It slowly floated into the air in front of him. He watched it quiver slightly in the flimsy grasp of his Telekinesis.

"Miles!" The sound of his father's call made Tails drop the gun in surprise. The gun dropped onto the bed with a soft thud. He heard his father's footsteps coming down the hallway to his room.

"Oh, damn," swore Tails worriedly as he tried to think of what to do with the gun.

* * *

><p>"Sonic!" shouted a voice in the crowded G.U.N. office. Sonic turned toward the voice that he recognized so well. He saw the black hedgehog through the crowd of agents in the office.<p>

"Shadz!" Sonic shouted back. He walked up to Shadow.

"Come with me," said Shadow shortly. Sonic nodded and followed Shadow to his office. Shadow dug a file out of his desk and gave it to Sonic. Sonic looked through it and found a series of papers full of writing, but what shocked him was the photograph at the back of the folder.

"Is that...?" Sonic asked in disbelief.

"Yes, it is," said Shadow quietly. "I got it a week ago. I thought it best not to interrupt your honeymoon unless I was sure. So I did some research, but I didn't come up with anything conclusive until last night."

"Why?" asked Sonic, looking up from the file. "What happened last night?"

"There was a hold up at a jewelry store last night," said Shadow.

"A jewelry store that's open at night?" said Sonic with a cocked eyebrow.

"Apparently," said Shadow. "I did some digging and found the witness statements of the few people in there when it was held up. The suspect was a fox. And one witness that was outside the store said he saw two things that caught my attention. First thing was that the fox that walked into the store had two tails."

"So why isn't Tails' house being invaded by press and cops?" asked Sonic. "And why haven't I got a call from Tails about him being arrested or something?"

"Because the witness is a well-known junky," said Shadow. "Totally whipped up last night. He could have said that the suspect had two heads and we would have ignored it. But then I read what he saw next."

"And we're getting to this now?" asked Sonic impatiently, holding the picture up to Shadow's face.

"Yes, because that was the second thing he saw," said Shadow. "The witness saw him go down the alley next to the store at the same time that the suspect entered the store."

"So, the robber is Tails," said Shadow.

"Maybe," said Shadow. "But I wanna ask Tails a couple questions. This could all be him-" he pointed to the picture. "-playing us. We can't rule out anything when it comes to him and you know that."

"But he's dead, Shadow," said Sonic. "A building fell on him. Who could survive that? Or the blast from the wall of sound that was generated by that sonic-bomb."

"Like I said," said Shadow. "We can't rule anything out with him."

"So, let's go to the Prowers'" said Sonic. He put the photograph back in the folder and took one last, fearful look at it. It depicted a black dog in a leather jacket and jeans walking down a city street with his hands in his pockets. Dragon.

* * *

><p>"Miles!" called Amadeus again as he neared the doorway to Tails' bedroom. Tails waved one hand at the gun and it was thrown off the bed and onto the floor. He thrust the other one at the door and it slammed shut right as Amadeus came to it. "Hey! Miles, what gives?"<p>

"Don't come in," said Tails nervously.

"Why not?" asked Amadeus sternly.

"I'm uh..." Tails froze. Then he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "I'm naked!" Tails immediately face-palmed himself after saying that.

"You're always naked, Miles," said Amadeus in annoyance. "By the way, that's something I've been meaning to talk to you about. You should really consider wearing some clothes. It's not very decent for a seventeen-year-old fox to go around nude all the time. It may have been okay when you were a kid, but a shirt or even a zip-up jacket or hoody wouldn't hurt you." Tails rolled his eyes at the lecture his father had decided to give him now, of all times. "Okay, I'm coming in now." Tails immediately focused all his attention on the door to keep it shut. His father turned the knob and pushed on it, but it wouldn't budge. "Okay, what gives here? You don't even _have_ a lock on your door. What'd you do? Install a bolt for it?"

"Yeah," said Tails, thankful that his father was practically giving him a good cover-up. Tails grabbed the gun with his mind and lifted it up to waist level. He didn't want to touch it anymore than he had to. The less of his fur on it, the better.

"When did you do that?" asked Amadeus from the hallway.

"About a week ago," said Tails.

"Okay, well let me in now or I'll go get my sword and slash the door down," threatened Amadeus. "And then you can live without a bedroom door until you can buy a new one yourself. And you know I'm not bluffing." Tails knew he wasn't. He had about a minute before his dad started hacking his way through that door.

Tails hid the gun under the bed and found something even worse beside it. It was a sack full of jewelry. Real jewelry. Jewelry he had never seen before. Then he looked up in surprise as the door opened and his father came into the room. The brown fox didn't look very happy.

"Okay, I'm not stupid, Miles," he said with a frown. "You're hiding something and I know it. I can always tell."

"How?" asked Tails with a cocked eyebrow.

"Well, two things," said Amadeus smugly. "First, there's no bolt on that door." He pointed behind him to the bedroom door. "Second, you're a horrible liar. Naked, Miles? Really?" Tails looked down sheepishly. "Tell me now or we can do this interrogation style where I lock the door with a chain, sit you in a chair, and grill you with ruthless psychological warfare techniques until you crack." He smiled somewhat evilly.

"Okay," said Tails awkwardly. "Well, I came into my room and I found this under my pillow." Tails watched as he raised the gun in the air with his mind. His father's expression turned from smug concern to utter surprise.

"What is that?" asked Amadeus slowly.

"It's a gun," said Tails quietly.

"Yeah, but why is it floating?" asked Amadeus.

"Because I'm holding it there with my mind," said Tails more quietly than before.

"What?" asked Amadeus. "What are you talking about?"

"Telekinesis," said Tails. "I know how to use Telekinesis."

"Um... okay," said Amadeus slowly. "How?"

"I've been teaching myself how," said Tails quietly. "It's a long story."

"Okay, next question," said Amadeus. "Why do you have a gun?"

"I don't know," said Tails. "I found it under my pillow. And I found this under my bed." Tails laid the gun on the bed and lifted the bag of jewelry into the air and laid it next to the gun.

"What is that?" asked Amadeus worriedly.

"A sack of jewelry," said Tails sheepishly.

"Where'd you get it?" asked Amadeus worriedly.

"I don't know," said Tails nervously. "I just went to hide the gun under the bed and found it there." Amadeus was about to reply when he was cut off by the sound of the doorbell. He left the room to go answer the door. Tails quickly stashed the gun and jewelry under the bed.

* * *

><p>Amadeus opened the door to find Sonic and Shadow.<p>

"Sonic, Shadow," said Amadeus welcomingly. "What brings you two here? Congratulations again, Sonic. How was the honeymoon?"

"It was nice," said Sonic as Amadeus let them both in. "Sally and I went to a nice hotel in downtown Mobotropolis and just hung out together. Nothing big."

"Oh, that sounds nice," said Amadeus.

"Okay, General Prower," said Shadow. "Not to rush or anything, but we really need to speak to Tails."

"He's in his room," said Amadeus as he started for the bedroom.

"No, General," said Shadow. "We need to be alone with him. Sorry."

"No complaints from me," said Amadeus with a shrug.

"Thanks," said Sonic as he started for Tails' bedroom.

* * *

><p>Tails was hiding the gun and jewelry under some junk under his bed when Sonic and Shadow walked in.<p>

"Sonic!" Tails greeted happily when they walked in. "Shadow! What are you guys doing here? Aren't you still on honeymoon, Sonic?"

"Got back yesterday," said Sonic.

"Cool," said Tails. "So, what do you need?"

"Tails, we need to talk," said Shadow plainly. "There was a jewelry store that was held up last night. Do you know anything about it?" Tails heart skipped a beat when he heard the word jewelry.

"No, why?" asked Tails, feigning confusion.

"We think that Dragon might have had something to do with it," said Sonic shortly. Now Tails was genuinely confused.

"I thought he was dead," Tails said slowly with a look of disbelief.

"Yeah, so did we," said Shadow, handing the file to Tails. Tails looked through it and dropped his jaw in surprise when he saw the photograph inside.

"This has to be fake," he said, somewhat in denial. Shadow shook his head.

"Nope," said Shadow shortly. "I sent it to the photograph analysts at G.U.N. totally real."

"Where'd you get it?" asked Tails.

"I found it taped to the door of my office a week ago," said Shadow. "I think he put it there himself. I think he wanted me to find it. That means he has a plan. He's planning something and it's probably something bad and you're the most likely target."

"What does that have to do with a jewelry store robbery?" asked Tails. Shadow showed him the witness statements in the file. Tails took a minute to read over them. He looked up at Shadow in shock when he had finished. "It couldn't have been me. I was here all night." Shadow's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Turn around, Tails," he said quietly. Shadow's eyes widened in shock when he saw the slash in Tails' back. "Where'd that come from, Tails?"

"I don't know, why?" asked Tails worriedly.

"Because the owner of the store, while unable to provide an accurate description of the suspect, swears he slashed the suspect's back with his knife," explained Shadow. "Can you explain that cut?"

"No," said Tails nervously. "I just woke up with it. I woke up this morning and it was there. I was trying to figure out how it happened when you two came."

"Okay then," said Shadow as he pulled a pair of tweezers and a plastic bag put of his quills. He plucked something off the bed and stuck it in the bag. "There's blood at the store. Here's your blood." He showed him a piece of congealed blood in the bag. "I'll just compare them. That'll be enough to put you away, Tails."

"Hold on, Shadow," Sonic spoke up. "You said we were here to get his side of the story and that we need to get him some protection. Dragon's out there, probably hunting Tails."

"Or Tails decided to partner up with that psycho," said Shadow. "That dog offered him the prospect of Telekinesis, you remember that? Maybe he contacted Tails after the bombing and Tails said yes this time."

"That's crazy," argued Sonic in disbelief. "Careful, Shadow, you're gonna hurt yourself jumping to those kinds of conclusions."

"Is it really that crazy, Sonic?" asked Shadow. "How often did you see Tails after that whole Dragon-Robotnik fiasco? Or were you too busy with Sally to pay any attention to Tails?" Sonic opened his mouth to respond, but couldn't find anything to say. It was true. After he started going out with Sally, he didn't spend very much time with Tails. He went whole months without seeing the two-tailed fox.

"Or, like you said before, it could be Dragon playing us," argued Sonic.

"Then consider me played," said Shadow. "All the evidence points to him, Sonic. The cut, the witness statement-"

"From a junky," interjected Sonic.

"Well, I'll be back with an arrest warrant, Tails," said Shadow as he eyed the fox. "You'll be safe in jail and we can make a good investigati-" He stopped and sniffed the air. "Is that lighter fluid?" Tails froze up. He didn't know what that could mean, but he guessed it wasn't good. Shadow bent down and picked up the damp glove.

"What does that mean?" asked Tails.

"Lighter fluid, cut, and a witness statement," said Shadow. "Tails, why is this glove soaked with lighter fluid?"

"I don't know," said Tails. "Just like the cut, I woke up and found my arm soaked in lighter fluid."

"The suspect used lighter fluid to set the store's electrical systems out back of it on fire to kick out the lights," said Shadow. "Tails, you're under arrest for robbery."

"You said you needed a warrant," said Tails.

"Probable cause," said Shadow shortly as he pulled a pair of handcuffs out of his quills and walked toward Tails.

* * *

><p>Dragon was watching the scene unfold in front of him from outside Tails' bedroom window. He smiled evilly at the thought of what he was about to do. He focused all his attention on the fox and reached out at him with his mind.<p>

"My little puppet," he said quietly.

* * *

><p>"I didn't do it!" said Tails defensively.<p>

"I'll find that out for myself," said Shadow as he neared Tails.

"Okay, slow down here Shadow," said Sonic. "You're actually getting ahead of me here. You're arresting Tails?"

"Yep," said Shadow. "Don't worry; he'll be kept safe in prison." Suddenly, Tails started feeling weird. He had the strongest urge to get the gun out from under the bed and shoot Shadow with it. Then he blinked and found that he was doing it. Everything had changed. He was holding a gun on Shadow and Shadow was holding a gun on him. He didn't even know he did it. He just blinked and found himself with the gun in his hands.

"Okay, Miles Prower, you're under arrest," said Shadow sternly. "Drop the gun and I won't drop you."

"Tails, where did you get a gun?" asked a very dazed Sonic.

"I-" Tails couldn't explain it. He didn't even know what was going on. He had no idea where the gun or jewelry came from and he had no idea how the gun had even gotten into his hands. He knew his best option was to put the gun down and explain everything he knew when things were less heated. But he felt so good holding it. He couldn't explain it, but he felt good holding the gun. He didn't want to put it down. He wanted to hold this gun. He wanted to pull the trigger.

"Pull it," echoed a soft voice in his brain. "Just pull it. You know you want to." He did, too. But he resisted. He didn't want to at the same time.

"C'mon, Tails, just put the gun down," said Sonic. He wasn't commanding him. He didn't sound angry or defensive. He sounded sad. Like seeing Tails with the gun broke his heart more than scared him. Tails almost couldn't believe it, but he actually thought the hedgehog was begging Tails to put the gun down.

Tails wanted to. He really did. It was like he couldn't. Like he wasn't in control. He couldn't do anything except keep himself from pulling the trigger. Then he did something that almost made him sick. He turned the gun on Sonic.

* * *

><p>Amadeus was sitting on the couch in front of the TV. He wasn't paying it any attention, though. He was wondering what was going on with Tails. What was going on with him, Shadow, and Sonic in that room? What could they be doing? Then his train of thought was derailed and his heart was almost stopped when he heard the sound of a gunshot come from Tails' room<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Haha! I started the story off with a small cliffhanger. Who get's shot? Well, You'll find out eventually. And Dragon's back! And what's he doing to Tails? Well, anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and didn't think it was too bad. Like I said, it's being tricky with me. So, review, favorite, tell friends, alert, and always keep a cabbage in your backpack. 'Til next time!<strong>


	2. Fugitive

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey! It's here! The second chapter! Yay! Well, this one's sort of slow and it's definitely not the best I've written. It's also a bit short. But I hope you enjoy it anyway.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Tails watched in horror as everything seemed to slow down after he pulled the trigger against his will. He saw the muzzle flare and he watched the bullet fly straight at Sonic. The hedgehog was quick, but not quick enough. He tried to dodge, but Tails saw the bullet make impact on his arm. He watched the blood explode out of Sonic's arm and spatter out and some of it landed on him. Then Tails watched as Shadow braced himself to shoot.<p>

"NO!" yelled the wounded Sonic in terror. He was on the ground, grabbing the wound in pain. Shadow fired off two shots. Tails had no idea how he reacted the way he did, but he immediately flung out his hand and concentrated on stopping the bullets. Amazingly, they exploded in the air in front of Tails with a couple sparks, like they were hitting a wall. Then Tails grabbed Shadows gun with his mind and yanked it out of his hand, grabbed Shadow's throat with his mind and threw him into the opposite wall, and then launched him into the ceiling. Shadow dropped to the floor and lay there motionless.

Then, as suddenly as it had come, the strange feeling left Tails and he was back in control of himself. But there was still a whisper in the back of his head.

"Run," it told Tails urgently. "You need to run now!" Tails obeyed it. He looked out the window behind him and concentrated on the glass. He thrust his hand at it and it exploded out of the house and the blinds went with it. Tails jumped up onto the window sill and took off, tail-choppering away as fast as he could.

"What the hell is going on in here?" asked an alarmed Amadeus as he burst into the room. He looked down at Sonic, who was sitting against a wall, breathing heavily and wincing out of pain, holding the wound in his arm.

"Tails shot him," said Shadow angrily. "Where the hell did he get a gun?"

"He said he found it under his pillow this morning," said Amadeus defensively.

"Didn't you think that was just a bit strange?" asked Shadow sarcastically.

"Well, I didn't really get a chance to ask him about it because you two came knocking before I could," argued Amadeus as he looked at Sonic's wound.

"So why didn't you tell us?" asked Shadow furiously.

"I would have had I known what it was about," said Amadeus. "But it was all 'Sorry, General, we need to talk to him alone'."

"Did you know about the Telekinesis?" asked Shadow.

"Yes, but, like the gun, I didn't get to ask him about it before you two came," said Amadeus defensively.

"No, that had to be Dragon," said Sonic quietly.

"Get real, Sonic," said Shadow, outraged. "He just shot you point blank. If it weren't for your speed, you'd probably be dead right now."

"Okay, everyone calm down," said Amadeus sternly. "Now, I'm Tails' father, so now it's my turn to interrogate you two. We're all going to be very calm about it because an adrenaline rush isn't very good for you when you have an open bullet wound."

"Sorry, General, I don't have time," said Shadow impatiently as he headed for the door. "I need to go put an APB out on your psycho son." Amadeus immediately stood up and shut the door before Shadow could leave. He turned on Shadow with a look that would have sent the biggest of thugs running home.

"You're staying right here," Amadeus spoke with an ice-cold tone that could have frozen fire. His voice was low and it sounded calm, but it was layered with pure rage. "My son just shot his best friend and flew out the window. I'm his father and I have a right to know everything that's going on. Neither of you are leaving this house until I'm satisfied with the information you give me."

"And what will you do if I refuse?" asked Shadow challengingly, moving in on Amadeus so that their faces were right in front of each other.

"Don't think for a minute that you scare me, Shadow the Hedgehog," said Amadeus coldly, threateningly. "I may be a little further along in years than you and you may have chaos powers and a gun, but I can still kick your furry ass from here to Mobotropolis with one hand tied behind my back." Shadow attempted to stare him down for a minute before he finally gave in.

"Fine," said Shadow reluctantly.

"Good," said Amadeus. "Now, I need to go explain this to Rosemary and make a few calls. I'm gonna be late to the briefing about my new assignment. Shadow, I trust you can tend to Sonic's wound there." He turned to face both of them. "Phones." He held out his hands to each of them expectantly.

"Why?" asked Shadow.

"You don't give out any info about this until I know everything you know," said Amadeus sternly. "Phones, both of you, now." Shadow growled and gave his phone to Amadeus. Sonic handed his over and Amadeus left the room while Shadow tended to Sonic's wound.

* * *

><p>Tails was sitting against the wall of the small building on the rooftop of the skyscraper he had landed on. He felt sick. He was shaking. He had already gotten sick when he landed on the rooftop. He was scared to death right now. He looked down at his chest and hands and saw the blood that had been spattered on him from Sonic's arm. He had Sonic's blood on him.<p>

"What the hell have I done?" he whispered to himself. He pulled his knees into his chest and wrapped his arms around them, burying his head into his kneecaps, still violently shaking out of fear and guilt. Then everything got worse.

"Well, I thought it was obvious," said a familiar voice from around the corner of the wall. Tails jerked his head up in fear and watched in horror as a black dog in a leather jacket and jeans walked out from around the corner, smiling malevolently. "You just shot your best friend." Tails was up and ready to fight in a second, defensive combat position with the gun pointed right at the dog's head.

"Careful, Dragon," growled Tails angrily. "You're right, I did, and don't think I won't shoot you."

"Oh, please, you won't shoot me," he said in a somewhat gleeful voice. Then Tails felt that strange feeling again and all he wanted to do was go to the edge of the building and drop the gun over the ledge. Then Tails figured it out.

"It was you," said Tails quietly, resisting the urge to drop the gun. "You did it."

"You're right, I did," said Dragon, still smiling.

"And did you rob the jewelry store, too?" asked Tails.

"Well, technically, you did," said Dragon. "Just like how you 'technically' shot Sonic the Hedgehog. Y'know, you're so much easier to control when I'm making you sleep walk. When you're actually awake, you always fight it. It's actually a subconscious thing for you. You just naturally question it and fight it. It's kind of annoying, actually."

"How?" demanded Tails.

"Just think about it a minute," said Dragon, feigning encouragement. "It'll come to you." Tails thought about it, not taking the gun off Dragon for a second.

"Telepathy," whispered Tails. "You telepathically controlled me. How did you learn telepathy?"

"Same way I learned Telekinesis," said Dragon with a shrug. He leaned against the wall and looked out at the view from the skyscraper.

"What are you planning?" asked Tails.

"What makes you think I'm planning something?" asked Dragon. Then he turned to Tails and looked him straight in the eye. "Drop the gun." Before he knew what he was doing, Tails had dropped the gun.

"Would you stop that?" asked Tails in annoyance. "Okay, so why did you just make me shoot Sonic? Why did you make me rob a jewelry store?" Tails sat down against the wall again and picked up the gun with his mind and spun it around in the air.

"All that was to make a nice entrance," said Dragon gleefully. "But you'll have to wait and see what I have planned. Don't worry, it won't take too long. Time flies when you're running from G.U.N." He laughed and walked away. Tails knew he was right. He was officially on the run now. It wouldn't be long before there were whole manhunts devoted to catching him. They probably thought he was crazy. They'd mobilize everything to find a murderous, psycho telekinetic.

Tails dropped the gun out of the air and pulled his knees to his chest again, now a lot calmer than before. But he was still scared out of his mind. And he had no idea what he was gonna do next.

* * *

><p>Amadeus sat down across from Sonic and Shadow at the small table in the kitchen. Sonic was drinking a soda and Shadow had a cup of coffee. Amadeus had a cup of tea in front of him that he was stirring. Sonic's wound was now bandaged and taken care of and Shadow had an ice pack on his head.<p>

"So, let's start at the beginning," said Amadeus calmly as he took a sip of his tea. "What brought you two here to begin with?"

"We needed to talk to Tails," said Shadow.

"About?" asked Amadeus. Shadow handed him the file that he had with him. "What's this?" He opened the file and skimmed through it.

"Witness statements, a couple other documents, a photo," listed Shadow. "A case file."

"A jewelry store robbery," said Amadeus with an understanding nod, not taking his eyes off the file. "What does my son have to do with this?"

"Look at the witness statements," said Shadow. Amadeus took a minute to read them. Shadow took a sip of his coffee while Sonic sat and watched, motionless and expressionless.

"Two-tailed fox," said Amadeus with a light sigh as he read the file. "You think my son knocked off a jewelry store?"

"Yes, I do think so," said Shadow determinedly. "And I can get him on it once I have the blood sample analyzed. And I can already get him with assaulting a G.U.N. agent and attempted murder."

"Well, I wish I could prove you wrong," groaned Amadeus quietly, leaning his head in his hands. "Unfortunately, I think I can only prove you right."

"How?" asked Shadow and Sonic in unison with confused looks on their faces.

"This morning, Miles woke up with lighter fluid on his arm, a slash down his back, a gun under his pillow, and a sack of jewelry under his bed," said Amadeus quietly.

"Where's the sack?" asked Shadow.

"Probably still under his bed," said Amadeus, pointing behind him. Shadow got up and headed for the bedroom, leaving Sonic and Amadeus alone.

"You don't actually think he did it, do you?" Sonic asked quietly. He was almost whispering.

"I don't know, Sonic," said Amadeus equally as quietly. "I just don't know." He took a sip of his tea. "So, you two came here to arrest my son? You couldn't have told me first?"

"That's not why we came here," said Sonic, still quiet. "We came to warn him. Shadow sort of ran away with it after the robbery came up. Shadow never suspected Tails until he saw the cut on his back."

"Warn him about what?" asked Amadeus.

"You remember that whole Robitnik mess three years ago?" asked Sonic.

"With that psycho dog and Miles getting shot at the cafe?" said Amadeus. "Yeah, why?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Because me and Shadow think that the psycho dog might have survived," said Sonic with a sigh.

"How do you know?" asked Amadeus.

"Look at the witness statements again," said Sonic. Amadeus read them over again.

"So, you think that he's alive based on a coincidental sighting of someone who looked like him while my son robbed a jewelry store?" asked Amadeus skeptically.

"I think it's more than coincidence," said Sonic, leaning forward towards Amadeus. "That picture in the file was given to Shadow a week ago." Amadeus looked at the photo.

"By who?" asked Amadeus.

"He doesn't know," said Sonic. "It was posted on his office door when he got it. No one knows where it came from. And that dog always had a particular interest in Tails when we were fighting him. I don't know if he told you about this, but he wanted to take him on as a kind of psychic apprentice."

"Yeah, when he took him hostage before the building was blown up," said Amadeus.

"No, before that," said Sonic. "Tails was able to escape from his cell. Dragon caught him and offered him his life if he agreed to be his apprentice. Tails told me a couple days later that the only reason he didn't go along with it was that he didn't want to make us think that he was dead."

"Really," said Amadeus quietly in amazement. "I had no idea. This changes everything, Sonic. He could have actually met with Dragon anytime between now and then. Who knows, it's possible that they've been meeting with each other in secret all this time. From what it sounds like, he handed Shadow's ass to him on a silver platter. Maybe Miles actually did do this."

"I still don't think so," said Sonic. "If Tails really was to resort to theft, which I still don't believe for a second, he'd go bigger than knocking off a jewelry store. At least not while it was open. I can see him going for cat-burglary, maybe clearing the entire store after it was closed, but that's only if he were to go for criminal life, which I could never see happening."

"Well, right now, all the evidence points to Miles doing this," said Amadeus. Sonic glared at him in angry disbelief.

"I can't believe you actually believe that your own son, Mile 'Tails' Prower, hero of the planet, committed petty robbery," said an outraged Sonic.

"Oh, I don't believe it for a second," said Amadeus. "I'm just seeing this from G.U.N.'s point of view. G.U.N. is a human-based organization. They're not openly discriminative against Mobians, but they're very protective of their agency. They're uncomfortable with foreign cooperation. The human government in Station Square is a separate government to the Kingdom of Acorn. Whenever I've worked in cooperation with them, they've always got a bad attitude towards me and anyone else in the kingdom's military. They're petty, annoying, and stubborn as hell when we're around."

"So, what does that tell us?" asked Sonic.

"That briefing I was going to that I called in late for this whole mess was to make me the leader of a small squad of soldiers that was to become a kingdom-division in G.U.N.," said Amadeus. "Unofficially, I'm their enemy."

"So, what? They set Tails up?" asked Sonic skeptically.

"No, I'm not saying they had anything to do with that," said Amadeus. "But now they have the evidence to actually convict Miles of this. That call I made postponed the entire project that would have had me and my squad sent to G.U.N. headquarters for a long-term partnership. Now they have a chance to attract enough bad publicity to possibly ruin that partnership for good. They're going to make it their first priority to put Miles behind bars."

"So what do we do?" asked Sonic worriedly.

"Somewhere out there is evidence that Miles is innocent," said Amadeus quietly. "We need to go out and find it."

"Where do we start?" asked Sonic as he stood up.

"We start by finding Miles," said Amadeus. Then Shadow entered the room with the sack of jewelry.

"Okay, everything that was stolen is here," said Shadow. "Are we done here?"

"Yes, we are Shadow," said Amadeus. "Sonic, you should go home and tell Sally you're alright before she sees the news reports. Shadow..." Amadeus tried to think of something to say, but he couldn't think of anything. He wasn't very comfortable giving advice to the hedgehog who would lead the search for his son's arrest. "... Just try and not get too beaten up by Miles, okay?" Shadow smirked and took off out the door. Sonic followed shortly after, leaving Amadeus alone in the kitchen.

"Amadeus?" said a voice behind him quietly. Amadeus turned around and found his wife watching him. "You don't think Miles did any of that stuff you said, do you? He's gonna be alright, right?"

"Of course he is, dear," he said to her quietly. "And I intend to prove his innocence if it kills me. Everything's gonna be alright." He stood up, walked over to her, and embraced her tightly.

I hope, Amadeus thought silently to himself.

* * *

><p>"Sally!" called Sonic as he walked into his apartment. "Hey, Sal, you here?"<p>

"I'm in here, Sonic," Sally called back from the kitchen. Sonic walked in and hugged her from behind. He kissed her on the cheek and noticed she was making something on the stove.

"What'cha makin'?" he asked.

"Breakfast," said Sally with a chuckle.

"Oh, gee, that's specific," Sonic replied with a laugh.

"Just some eggs," said Sally. "I haven't had breakfast yet."

"What time is it?" asked Sonic.

"It's about nine," said Sally. "So, what did Shadow want to see you for?"

"That's a long story," said Sonic. "And it involves me getting this." He showed her the bandage on his arm.

"Oh my god," said Sally scoldingly. "Did he take you to a shooting range or something? Ever since that agency issued him a sidearm he's always seemed a little trigger happy with it."

"He didn't take me to a shooting range," said Sonic. "But I did get shot."

"Well, I can see that," said Sally. "What happened then?"

"Tails shot me," Sonic said quietly. Sally's eyes widened in surprise and horror.

"What?" she whispered. "Wha- What happened?"

"Well, it's a pretty long story," said Sonic.

"Start talking now, then," ordered Sally.

"Alright," said Sonic submissively. He sat down at the small island in the kitchen and started retelling the story of how Shadow warned him about Dragon, how they went to Tails house, and about how Tails shot him. After he was done, Sally was sitting next to him eating her eggs, staring intently at him, her eyes wide from the shock.

"So, he's still alive?" asked Sally quietly. "But how? You told me that the entire building fell. Not only was he blown up, but a building _fell_ on top of him. How could he survive that?"

"I don't know," said Sonic. "But I think I know a way to find out." He got up and started walking to their bedroom.

"How?" asked Sally with a cocked eyebrow.

"By making a call to an old friend," said Sonic.

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, see? Not my best. But, for anyone who has read the first story, I think you'll know who the old friend is that Sonic's going call. Anyway, hoping to update again soon. Til then, remember, favorite, review, tell friends, alert, and always carry a banana around in your back pocket. Oh! speaking of bananas, I might be publishing a doctor whoSonic crossover soon, so any whovians and/or Sonic fans might wanna look out for that. Just sayin'. It's gonna be somewhat epic. Til next time!  
><strong>


	3. Puppet

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, here's chapter three! This one is a bit slow, but gets a little heated at the end. Next chapter will go a lot faster and better, I promise. So, read and enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Nate was sitting down for breakfast in his Station Square apartment when the phone rang. He had a plate of eggs in front of him with a cup of coffee beside it. He had just stuck his fork into the eggs when the polyphonic ring of his cell phone broke the silence of the apartment. He put the fork down, took the phone out, and looked at the caller I'D.<p>

"Well, this is a surprise," he mused as he pressed the "answer" button on the touch-screen of the phone and put it to his ear. "Sonic the Hedgehog. What's up?"

"Nate, we need to talk," said the voice of Sonic quickly. "It's important."

"You need a job done?" asked Nate hopefully. "I'm in a bit of a jam financially."

"No, I need to know about that bomb three years ago," said Sonic over the phone.

"What about it?" asked Nate curiously.

"Is there any possibility at all that Dragon could have survived it?" asked Sonic.

"None, no way," said Nate.

"Okay, so what would you have done if you were in his position?" asked Sonic.

"I would have tried to defuse it," said Nate. "I would have gotten in the van and-" His voice cut off.

"What?" asked Sonic impatiently.

"The van," said Nate quietly. "The van was a part of the bomb."

"So?" asked Sonic.

"The metal frame of the van was used as a transmitter," said Nate.

"Okay, I'm lost," said Sonic.

"The bomb wasn't an explosive bomb, it was a hypersonic pulse, a solid wall of sound," said Nate quickly. "Basically the frame was used to multiply the sonic energy generated by the bomb and transmit it outwards as a sonic pulse. If you got in the van before it went off, theoretically, you could survive the blast."

"Okay, how do you survive a building falling on top of you?" Sonic pointed out.

"Fair point," said Nate thoughtfully. "Okay, I've waited long enough here. What's this all about?"

"Me and Shadow think that Dragon may have survived," said Sonic.

"What made you think that?" asked Nate.

"A photo was posted on Shadow's office door a week ago," said Sonic. "It was of Dragon walking down a city street. Shadow sent it to the G.U.N. photo guys and they say it's one hundred percent real. Even the timestamp is authentic. It was taken about a month ago."

"Well, you can't rule out anything when it comes to Dragon," sighed Nate.

"It gets worse," said Sonic. "Actually, it should be on the news by now."

"What, Dragon?" asked Nate.

"No, the worse part," said Sonic quietly.

"What happened?" asked Nate.

"Turn on the news," said Sonic. "It's on right now."

* * *

><p>"You're still here?" asked a voice from behind Tails. He looked around to find Dragon standing over him, leaning against the wall that Tails had been sitting by for the last hour.<p>

"Yeah, I got nowhere else to go," whispered Tails sadly. "What are you still doing here? Haven't you had enough fun with me already?"

"I'm not trying to have fun with you," said Dragon. "I needed you alone."

"Oh, so finding me and just maybe pulling me aside or kidnapping me for a private chat or something wouldn't have worked?" asked Tails disbelievingly.

"Yeah, it might have, but the minute I'd let you go, you'd run off to your hero best friend, your high-ranking-military-officer father, or your top-G.U.N. agent friend and then I'm on the news, every wanted poster on the street, and I'm the subject of every manhunt on the planet," explained Dragon. "And I'd still have to wait for a time when you're not either with your father or that hedgehog."

"Well, it wouldn't have been that hard," said Tails quietly. "Me and Sonic haven't been really doing anything together very often lately. Ever since Sally and him started getting serious, he hasn't been spending much time with me. The last time I had seen him before the wedding a week and a half ago was a couple months ago."

"Really?" said Dragon. Tails actually thought he heard genuine sympathy in his voice.

"Yeah," said Tails. He picked a rock up off the ground with his mind and twirled it around in the air. "So, why make me a fugitive?"

"I needed you alienated from your friends," said Dragon.

"Well, I don't think this whole 'fugitive' thing will turn my father away from me," said Tails. "And it definitely won't alienate me from Sonic either."

"You shot him," said Dragon. "He thinks you tried to kill him."

"Okay, knowing Sonic like I do, there are two possibilities I see," said Tails. "Either he thinks that I'm acting out or something because he's been neglecting me or something like that. He'll find a way to blame himself somehow. Or he'll think it was all you somehow."

"Why would he think it was me?" asked Dragon.

"They've learned to expect anything from you," said Tails. "And, now that they all know you're alive, I know that at least Sonic is going to blame you for it. With or without proof."

"Well, I'm working on a way to prove him otherwise," said Dragon quietly.

"You can try," said Tails with a small chuckle. "So, how did you survive that bomb?"

"I climbed inside the van," said Dragon. "I was going to try and defuse the bomb. I knew I didn't have a chance, but I tried anyway. The bomb went off and I braced for the explosion. I hear a loud boom, I see a cloud of dust outside the van, I hear the building being leveled around me, but, amazingly, the van is still in one piece. I didn't question it, I just focused on getting out of the building before it crushed me. Somehow, I managed to get out in one piece."

"And after that?" asked Tails. He changed his expression to one of mock hurt. "I feel sort of hurt. I thought you had your heart set on me as your apprentice." He was speaking with a mocking voice.

"I found a couple apprentices actually," said Dragon. "And over the years, they actually became pretty good. I trained them all well. They all had talents in different psychic arts. I have a telepath, a seer, and an electrokinetic, believe it or not."

"Electrokinesis?" asked Tails, looking up at Dragon with a cocked eyebrow.

"Yeah," said Dragon casually. "But I still needed you. I know you're better than any of them."

"No I'm not," said Tails.

"All you need is a little training," said Dragon. "But the potential is in there." He squatted next to Tails and looked him in the eye. But he wasn't looking at Tails. It looked to Tails like he was looking for something in Tails' eyes. "Somewhere in that genius mind of yours."

"Okay, anyway, what are you planning?" asked Tails, changing the subject.

"I'm planning a coup," said Dragon.

"Oh, great," said Tails. "We just got rid of Robotnik, now we've got another psycho trying to grab the throne."

"It's time to accelerate the future," said Dragon as he stood back up. "I'm trying to usher in the new age of psychics. I'll be the one to build it and rule it. A psychic society is what I see in the future. And I need your help to do it."

"Why?" asked Tails.

"I need a fourth psychic on my side and you're the prime choice," said Dragon. "You're brilliant, you have potential, and you could be an inside man for me."

"Not if I'm a fugitive like this," said Tails.

"Oh, I'll reveal myself, get you completely exonerated and everything," said Dragon casually. "Then you can help me work away at the kingdom from the inside."

"You know that I'll never agree to that," said Tails.

"Then you'll spend the rest of your life on the run," said Dragon.

"I could lie to you and say I'll do it, but turn on you later," said Tails.

"But I'm a telepath, I'll know when you're lying," said Dragon evilly.

"Then what if I do decide to help you, but change my mind later?" asked Tails.

"Well, I'm always so good at coming up with some kind of effective incentive," said Dragon maliciously. Tails was about to respond when he was stopped by the ringing of his cell phone. He looked at the caller ID and saw Sonic's picture pop up on the screen of his watch.

"Oh, goody, a chance to roll the rest of my plan into action," said Dragon with an evil smile.

* * *

><p>The Station Square Military Base was having a completely normal day. News about the postponement of the G.U.N. partnership hadn't been made public yet, being kept on a strictly need-to-know basis. In the cafeteria, a coyote was sitting down to lunch. It was noon and he only had about ten minutes before his lunch break was over.<p>

"Commander D'Coolette!" yelled a voice from somewhere behind the coyote. He looked up from his food to the voice that yelled his name. He was met with the sight of a blue hedgehog and a tall, brown fox in a blue military uniform wearing an eyepatch over his left eye.

"Hey, Ant!" said the hedgehog as he and the tall fox walked up to him. Antoine stood up and saluted the fox.

"General Prower," he greeted respectfully. Sonic was surprised to find that Antoine's usual thick French accent was now totally gone.

"At ease," said Amadeus casually.

"Hey, man, how's it goin'?" asked Sonic. Antoine narrowed his eyes at the hedgehog.

"That's Commander D'Coolette to you," Antoine growled. Sonic's expression changed to one of slight surprise. Then Antoine cracked a smile and started laughing. "I'm just kidding. So, what brings you here, Sonic? By the way, beautiful ceremony. How was the honeymoon? Did you guys have fun with that?"

"Not the time, Antoine," said Sonic as he rolled his eyes.

"Right, sorry," said Antoine. "So what brings you two here, General? I thought you would be very busy today, what with the G.U.N. business."

"Wait, no one's told you?" asked Amadeus with a cocked eyebrow.

"Told me what?" asked Antoine.

"The project's been postponed indefinitely," said Amadeus.

"Why? What happened?" asked Antoine in a surprised voice.

"I have to take a temporary leave of absence to deal with a family matter," said Amadeus. "Have you seen the news?"

"No, I've been preparing for the move to G.U.N. Headquarters," said Antoine. "What family matter?"

"Did you hear about the jewelry store downtown that got held up?" asked Amadeus.

"Yes, sir," said Antoine with a quick nod.

"G.U.N. thinks that Miles did it," said Amadeus. "Shadow's also got the evidence to get Miles for attempted murder and assaulting a G.U.N. agent."

"What?" asked a surprised Antoine. "Who'd he try to murder?"

"Me," said Sonic, pointing to the bandage on his arm.

"I don't believe it!" exclaimed Antoine. "He tried to kill you? What happened?"

"We can't get into the details right now," said Amadeus. "Point is, I need your help. Since the whole merger thing's been cancelled, you should have the rest of the day free. I need you to rally a team and go find Miles. Me and Sonic will be looking, too, but the more men we have out there, the better chance we have against a G.U.N. manhunt squad."

"Okay, but why do we need to catch Tails before G.U.N. does?" asked Antoine. "Does it matter who catches him? I mean, just because you catch him won't prove him innocent, sir."

"We think he is innocent," said Amadeus shortly. "We need to talk to him before G.U.N. can get him behind bars."

"Okay then," said Antoine with a shrug. "But don't you need to clear this with the king?"

"It's been cleared," said Amadeus.

"Yeah, he owes me big for a favor I did him way back," said Sonic with a cocky smile. "Plus, I'm his new brother-in-law, so Sal's on my side and he doesn't wanna mess with her on this issue."

"Okay then," said Antoine with a sigh. "What do I do should I find Tails?"

"Call me and/or Sonic," said Amadeus shortly. "We need to talk to him. If you can capture him or something, great, but only if you can do it, Antoine. He won't hurt you 'cause you're his friend."

"You tell me this after telling me he shot Sonic?" asked Antoine, amazed, with a cocked eyebrow.

"Just trust us, 'kay Ant?" said Sonic.

"Fine, okay, I'll go," said Antoine as he went and trashed his lunch. He walked out of the room behind Sonic and Amadeus. He'd just have to pick up a small snack from the vending machine.

"Hey, Ant, what happened to the accent?" asked Sonic. "I mean, I talked to you for a minute at the wedding and I noticed it was gone, but I didn't get to ask why?"

"Commander D'Coolette is part of the team I assembled to come to G.U.N. with me," said Amadeus. "G.U.N. thought it was necessary for him to lose the accent if he was going to work for them."

"Yeah, I'm still trying to get it," said Antoine. "It took a couple months, but I think I'm doing fine."

"Totally," said Sonic.

"Hopefully you haven't done it in vain," said Amadeus grimly. They were silent while they walked together down the hallway.

"Hey, do you think I should try calling Tails?" Sonic asked Amadeus, breaking the silence.

"Worth a shot," said Amadeus with a shrug. "But Miles is a smart fox. He'd have probably trashed his phone by now." Sonic got his phone out and dialed Tails' number. He waited while the phone rang on the other end of the line and was surprised when Tails actually picked up.

"Hello?" said Tails quietly over the phone.

"Tails! Where are you?" asked Sonic quickly.

"Why do you think I would tell you that?" asked Tails smartly.

"Because I can help you," said Sonic. "You really think I want you going to jail?"

"I don't want your help," growled Tails' voice.

"Then what do you want?" asked Sonic calmly.

"I want you dead," said Tails gravely over the phone. The sentence stabbed at Sonic like a dagger. He couldn't believe his ears.

"Tails, tha- that's crazy, why-" started Sonic.

"If you don't know why, then I'm not gonna be the one to tell you," snapped Tails angrily. "Figure it out for yourself, blue boy." That's when it finally hit Sonic. His best friend, his little brother, had finally gone off the deep end. Now he was just another threat. A threat that he had to stop.

"Fine, Miles," growled Sonic, anger rising in his voice. It almost hurt him not to call the fox by his nickname. "If you want a battle with me, you got it. But don't expect me to hold back anymore. You're going down, LITTLE BRO." He layered the last two words with pure disdain then hung up. Sonic felt horrible. He felt like someone had just grabbed his heart and squeezed it with a pair of tongs.

"Sonic, was that an act for something, or was that real?" asked Amadeus quietly, fear layering his voice.

"I don't know, General," said Sonic quietly as they continued walking down the hallway of the base. "Antoine, try homing in on Tails' phone's GPS. If you find anything, call me and the general. Tails may be wanting to be found."

"Where are we going?" asked Amadeus.

"To meet an old friend of mine," said Sonic. "I told him to meet us at a cafe."

* * *

><p>Nate sat at the table outside the cafe, reading a newspaper. He wasn't really paying attention to the paper. He had already learned all the news he needed to know. He was reminiscing, which was something he didn't make a habit of, being a professional assassin. He remembered the last time he was here, when he had stood on the roof across the street; when he had pulled the trigger to end the life of the young fox who was the subject of the meeting he was having here. Three years today, about this hour, in fact, was when the sniper at the table had sent a bullet through the two-tailed fox's body. Nate looked up from the paper when he saw the blue hedgehog and tall, brown-furred fox with an eyepatch walking toward his table.<p>

"Hello, Sonic," greeted Nate with a smile as he lowered the paper.

"Sonic, who's this?" asked Amadeus with a cocked eyebrow.

"And you must be General Prower," said Nate politely. He held put a hand for the fox to shake. "Hello, sir, I'm the man who tried to snipe your son through the heart." Amadeus dropped his jaw in surprise, speechless and confused as to how to respond to this rather unusual and somewhat disturbing greeting. Nate's smile faltered slightly. "Oh, c'mon, me and Tails are friends now. I saved his life. And speaking of, Sonic, what exactly is going on with our favorite, little two-tailed fox? Well, three years now, I'm guessing he's not so little anymore. Actually, he was never really little when I first met him." Sonic introduced Nate to Amadeus and sat down quietly. Nate's face fell. "What's going on now?"

"Sonic got a phone call from Miles," said Amadeus slowly.

"Tails wants to kill me," said Sonic dazedly, like he was just realizing it for the first time.

"What?" asked Nate confusedly.

"He called me and told me, straight up, that he wants to kill me," said Sonic sadly.

"Oh, we know he doesn't mean it," said Nate dismissively.

"How?" demanded Sonic, suddenly going from quiet and dazed to angry and threatening. He stared at Nate with anger in his eyes. "How is that possible? I heard his voice over the phone. It was Tails. It wasn't a recording, it wasn't an impressionist, and it definitely wasn't a prank phone call. What other explanation could there be?"

"Telepathy," said Nate slowly. Sonic raised his eyebrows and Nate smiled at him happily.

* * *

><p>Tails heard Sonic hang up and the other line go silent. He felt the strange feeling of the lack of control leave as if he was being hit by a wave. He dropped the phone and slumped against the wall. He didn't want to move. He barely wanted to breathe. He barely could breath.<p>

"Why?" whispered Tails quietly.

"Because it needed to be done," said Dragon quietly. "I can't have him poking around for you. You need to forget him." Suddenly, Tails felt a rush of energy welling up inside him. It wasn't just the anger or the rage he felt for the black dog next to him. It was strength. Telekinetic strength. Strength building up, ready to be unleashed to end the life of anyone it could get its claws on. Tails felt like he could topple a building with the whip of his hand.

Tails shouted out in anger and grabbed Dragon by the neck with his mind. He slammed Dragon's head into the wall and threw him to the ground. Tails walked over to him and blasted him across the roof with a telekinetically powered kick. Dragon landed on the ground with a dull this and a pained grunt.

"I' DONE WITH YOU!" shouted Tails angrily. "I'm through with you! I don't care if I go to jail. I'd rather rot and die in jail than help you do this. I'm gonna kill you! Then I'm gonna go beg forgiveness from Sonic, who probably won't even talk to me now anyway!" Tails took a knife out of his shoe and drew it back to launch it at Dragon. He was about to throw it when he felt a sharp, burning force hit him in the back. His entire body screamed with pain and he blacked out almost instantly afterward. Tails was awake long enough to feel his knees hit the ground.

* * *

><p>Antoine was flying in a military cruiser above the skyline of Station Square. He had tracked Tails' phone's GPS to a nearby skyscraper's roof and was scouting the area for the fox. He saw the rooftop that had registered as Tails' phone's location, but he didn't see the fox anywhere on the rooftop.<p>

"Hey, drop me off on that roof," Antoine told the pilot. The pilot lowered the cruiser down to the rooftop and Antoine jumped out. He landed on the roof as the cruiser flew away. He walked over to the small building on the roof and found Tails' phone on the ground.

"Where did he go?" Antoine asked out loud to himself as he picked the phone up. He stood up and looked over the watch-phone carefully. Then, suddenly, he tensed up as something grabbed his shoulder and his body screamed out in burning pain. He fell down and blacked out instantly with a gasp of surprise.

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Was that a nice, little cliffhanger? And Antoine is in the story now. So, what happened to Tails and Antoine? Find out next time. I'll try to update soon. 'Til then, review, alert, favorite, tell friends, and give a carrot to every opossum you see in your bedroom! Seeya!<br>**


	4. Traitor

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, here's chapter four. And, if I may say so myself, it's pretty good. I believe one of my reviewers asked for a twist, so I kind of took that as a sort of challenge. I tried to make this chapter really "twisty". I don't know if I really succeeded, but here it is. Read and enjoy.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Tails woke up in a bed. He knew it wasn't his bed, even though the last thing he remembered was getting into his bed the night before. He opened his eyes and sat up to look around. He was in a large, empty room. It looked like a windowless, empty office suite or conference room. There was a door opposite the wall that the bed was against. Tails reached out at the doorknob with his mind and tried to turn it, only to find that the door was locked and that the simple task of turning a doorknob with his mind made his head feel like someone had buried a hatchet in his skull. Tails yelped in pain and grabbed his head from the shock as his entire head screamed in agony and protest to the telekinetic attempt. His vision started to flash in and out on him and he started feeling dizzy.<p>

"Careful there," said a voice warningly from behind Tails. It was a female voice. Tails turned around slowly, as he was still trying to regain his equilibrium. He saw a fox sitting on a chair at the head of the bed. Or, rather, saw three of the same fox spinning around in his field of vision. He waited a few seconds to regain his focus. After he had, he saw that the fox in the chair was female. She was watching him concernedly, as if waiting to catch him should he fall off the bed. She had long, straight, blonde hair that was tied back in a ponytail and she had light, golden-yellow fur, like Tails' own fur, but with a lighter tint. She was wearing a pair of short, denim shorts and a tight, light green T-shirt.

"Who are you?" asked Tails slowly.

"Name's Lucy," said the fox. "And you're Mile 'Tails' Prower, the famous fox-hero of Mobius."

"Okay, so you know who I am," said Tails as he rubbed his head from the pain. "Do you know where we are? Or how we got here?"

"Well, we're in a vacant office suite in a skyscraper in downtown Station Square," explained Lucy casually with a shrug. "And the master brought you here."

"Huh?" asked Tails confusedly.

"Okay, sorry, that shock I gave you must have scrambled your brain a bit," said Lucy. "Okay, what's the last thing you remember?"

"The shock you gave me?" asked Tails, more confused now than before. "What are you talking about?"

"This," she said as she put her hands together in front of him. She pulled them apart slowly and as she did, several arcs of electricity connected them together, jolting quickly from one to the other like lightning strikes.

"How did you do that?" asked Tails.

"Well, I'm electrokinetic," said Lucy with a nervous chuckle. That's when it hit Tails. The memory of everything that had happened that day came back to him. The gun, the cut on his back, the shooting, the phone call.

"So, wait, you tased me?" asked Tails.

"Well, essentially, yeah," said Lucy.

"Why?" asked Tails.

"Because you were about to kill the master," said Lucy, like she thought it should have been obvious to Tails.

"What master?" asked Tails. "You mean Dragon?"

"Well, that's what you call him, I guess," said Lucy. "I have to call him 'master', though." She gestured air-quotes when she said "master".

"Why do you call him that?" asked Tails as he got off the bed.

"Because he says I have to," said Lucy. "If I don't, he gets mad. So I don't."

"No, I mean why 'master'," said Tails as he walked to the door on the other side of the room.

"Oh, well, because he's my master," said Lucy. "I'm his student. He teaches me to use my power and I stay with him and help him."

"Help him how?" asked Tails as he tried the doorknob with his hand. Still locked. Tails didn't know why he expected different. He turned to face Lucy.

"Oh, this and that," said Lucy. "I help him by stealing food, finding places to stay, just helping out."

"So, you're his apprentice?" asked Tails.

"Yeah," said Lucy. "At first, I didn't really think it was a good idea, but after a while, I started to like it."

"He wanted me to be his apprentice," said Tails as he walked over to her slowly. "I said 'no', though."

"Why'd you do that?" asked Lucy with a cocked eyebrow.

"He tried to kill me and all my friends," said Tails grimly. "That was a bit of a turn off. I did consider it, but like I said... Turn off."

"Ah," said Lucy understandingly.

"So, what does that make you to me?" asked Tails as he came up to her. "A cellmate or...?" His voice trailed off as he waited for an answer.

"The guard," said Lucy shortly as she stood up. She walked past him and toward the door.

"So why are you here, then?" asked Tails, stopping her walking out the door.

"Because I wanted to meet you," she said, turning to face him.

"I'm flattered," said Tails sarcastically. "So, what? Now you're leaving?"

"Well, like I said, I'm the guard," said Lucy. She gestured toward the door. "I need to go check on your friend."

"What friend?" demanded Tails calmly. Lucy reached into her back pocket and pulled out a black, leather wallet. She opened it and read from something inside it.

"Commander Antoine D'Coolette," she read. "Twenty-six. Married to Bunnie D'Coolette. Coyote. Tan fur. Blonde hair. Need I say more?"

"Why is Antoine here?" asked Tails confusedly.

"Because he was looking for you," said Lucy. "He probably traced your phone to the rooftop here. Anyway, I found him up on the roof, tased him out, and brought him down here. He's in another room. I have to go see if he's awake." She threw him the wallet and walked out the door. Tails caught it in midair with his mind, finding that his head didn't hurt now. He opened it in front of his face and reached for it with his hand. He let it drop from his mind's grasp and caught it with his hand.

Inside was Antoine's military ID. There was a picture of him from about a year and a half ago. In the corner of the ID window was a small picture that depicted him and Bunnie in each other's arms, smiling happily for the camera. There were a couple credit cards and a wad of cash in the wallet, along with another picture of Bunnie, alone in this one, laughing and sipping from a glass at her wedding. Tails also found a receipt from a jewelry store tucked away in the wad of cash.

"Jeez," whispered Tails as he read the receipt. "Bunnie is one lucky girl. That coyote buys her some real nice things." Tails put the wallet down and looked around the room. He needed a pen. He saw a small desk that he had missed before in the dark corner of the room. He walked over to it and searched through it, finding a pen in the third drawer he searched. Tails put the receipt on the desk and started writing quickly.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean 'telepathy'?" Amadeus asked Nate curiously.<p>

"I mean telepathic mind control," said Nate quietly with a smile. "Whatever Tails does that's strange, like shooting Sonic or robbing a jewelry store, he isn't doing of his own free will. Dragon could be making him do all that stuff. He could easily make Tails tell Sonic that he wanted to kill him."

"You realize how crazy this sounds, right, Nate?" asked Sonic with a cocked eyebrow.

"Does it really?" asked Nate. "He taught himself telekinesis. Do you really think he was gonna stop there?"

"Okay, then assume that Tails is being forced to do all this," said Sonic irritatedly. "That still leaves us at square one. Tails a fugitive, Shadow leading the manhunt for him, and us blaming Dragon for the whole thing with no evidence to back it up."

"Better than at a square two that we don't like," said Nate pointedly.

"So where do we go from here?" asked Amadeus.

"We look for Tails," said Nate. "Any ideas?" He looked from Sonic to Amadeus expectantly.

"I'll call Antoine and see if he's found anything," said Amadeus as he took out his phone. He walked away to make the call, leaving Sonic alone with Nate.

"So, how was the wedding?" asked Nate.

"Great," said Sonic. "I sent you an invitation."

"Yeah, sorry, I was busy that night," said Nate. "I had a job."

"I thought you said you were in a financial jam," said Sonic.

"Yeah, the job didn't really go down as planned," said Nate with a sigh. "Some guy hired me to kill another guy. I don't know the details, but I kill the guy and the guy who hired me thinks he can skimp out on paying me by trying to kill me instead. Ps. he's lying in the dump, where I am almost sure he'll never be found."

"Okay then," said Sonic.

"So, when do I get to meet the misses?" asked Nate curiously.

"Soon probably," said Sonic as he leaned his head on his hand. "Way things are going, you're probably gonna have to come by my place sometime." Amadeus came back and sat down.

"How's Antoine coming with the search?" asked Sonic.

"He didn't answer," said Amadeus. "I'll try calling later."

"So, what's the next step?" asked Sonic.

"Who knows," said Amadeus submissively.

"Why don't we go somewhere private and go through everything, organize all the facts and theories, and then figure out the next step," suggested Nate.

"Worth a shot," said Amadeus. He turned to Sonic. "Your place or mine?"

"Mine, I'm pretty sure yours is under surveillance or something," said Sonic. "We might not be as private there."

"And your place won't be?" asked Amadeus.

"Not if Sally has something to say about it," said Sonic with a smile. "You said it yourself. Acorn and G.U.N. don't work together well. If the princess says no, then they can't do anything. Maybe they can here, but I live in Mobotropolis now."

"Okay, so I do get to meet the missus," said Nate with a smile as he got up from the table with Amadeus and Sonic.

* * *

><p>Tails watched as the door opened slowly and Dragon walked into the room. He was sitting on the bed, holding his shoe in front of him with his mind, twisting it and twirling it around in midair in front of him. It relaxed him. Helped keep his mind off of what was going on.<p>

"So, you met Lucy," said Dragon.

"Yeah," said Tails quietly.

"Whatcha think of her?" asked Dragon.

"I don't know," said Tails. "I've barely spoken to her."

"You like her," said Dragon with a smile. "Don't bother denying it, I know you do. I can read your mind, remember?" Tails looked away sheepishly.

"Of course I don't," said Tails defensively. "Like I said, I barely know her."

"Yet, you still do," said Dragon with a smile. "Anyway, as much as I'd like to have this argument, I'd much rather get to discussing what happens to your coyote friend in the next room."

"What are you gonna do to him?" asked Tails with nervous concern.

"Well, right now, the plan is to kill him," said Dragon casually. "But I'm open to suggestions."

"How about letting him go," said Tails sharply. "He's got nothing to do with this. This is between you and me, Dragon. You can very easily mess with his memory and leave him in a motel room. He'll wake up a little confused, but none the wiser."

"But I can't, Tails," said Dragon. "What kind of purpose would that serve in my plan?"

"How 'bout a nice olive branch for me," suggested Tails plainly. "Maybe it'll help me actually consider doing what you want. Maybe you should try offering honey instead of vinegar." Dragon took a couple seconds to think it over.

"Nope, I've never been too good with that kinda thing," said Dragon dismissively. "Although, I did just think of something else to do. Call it a bit of a compromise. I'll let him live, but I'm going to use him to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt to all your friends that you have joined me."

"How are you gonna do that?" asked Tails challengingly.

"You'll just have to wait and see," said Dragon maliciously. "Wait and see, Tails." He chuckled evilly and walked out of the room, leaving Tails alone. Tails quickly pulled the wallet out again and looked at the pictures inside.

"I'm sorry, Antoine," Tails whispered to the ID picture inside. He had remembered that Dragon could read his mind and he had tried to hide the thought of the note inside the wallet as best as he could, but he had no idea if Dragon had actually found out about the note or not. Thankfully there weren't any cameras in the room, so he knew that he still had a chance. But Tails knew that all he could do was hope that everything went the way he wanted.

* * *

><p>Antoine woke up in a bed. He had no idea where he was or how he got there. The last thing he remembered was holding Tails' phone in his hand on the rooftop of the skyscraper. After that, everything was a blank. He sat up and looked around at where he was. It was a small, dark, empty room. It looked like a large closet. The bed took up the entire far wall. Opposite the far wall was the wall with the door in it. There was a dim light being cast in the room by a light bulb that dangled from the ceiling.<p>

"Where am I?" Antoine asked himself quietly. "How'd I get here?"

"Well, you're in a closet," a voice from the shadow on the opposite wall broke the silence. A figure stepped out from the shadow. It was a black dog. He was wearing a pair of jeans, but no top of any kind. "And my friend Lucy brought you here. She found you on the rooftop looking for your friend. Tails, right?"

"Yeah, why?" asked Antoine suspiciously. "And why am I here?"

"Well, you're here because I need you," said the dog maliciously. "And if you're looking for Tails, then I need to know because I need to make sure you don't find him."

"Why is that?" asked Antoine nervously.

"Because I need him," said the dog. "And if you do try to take him, then he'll just refuse and possibly try to kill you, like he did his hedgehog best friend. Trust me, it's better for both of us if you just go home and give up. You get to leave alive and see your wife again and Tails stays here. Where he wants to be."

"Who are you?" asked Antoine, a little fearfully now.

"Oh, I'm insulted now," said the dog, feigning hurt. "Tails didn't tell you about me? Or Sonic or Shadow? Not even Amy? Well, let me tell you the name that your friends know me by. My name is Dragon, and I'm-"

"That psycho that kidnapped Tails, Amy, and Shadow during that mess three years ago?" said Antoine in disbelieving surprise. "I thought you were dead!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not," said Dragon. "Now, here's what's going to happen, and I swear this to you. If you stay in here, keep quiet, and don't cause trouble, you will be home within the next four hours, alive. Do you get it?"

"Y- Yeah," stammered Antoine nervously.

"Okay, you promise to not cause trouble?" asked Dragon, somewhat sincerely, to Antoine's surprise. "Because that's all I need from you. I assume that you have heard of me from your friends, enough to know not to mess with me. So, that's what I'm saying. Don't mess with me, don't leave in a body bag. Got it?"

"Yeah," whispered Antoine fearfully.

"Good," said Dragon as he walked out the door, leaving Antoine alone in the dark silence. Antoine couldn't help but to think that what the dog was promising wasn't the same thing he was interpreting "home and alive" as.

* * *

><p>"Okay, so, nutshell recap," started Nate. "Tails wakes up, finds gun and jewelry under pillow-"<p>

"The jewelry was under his bed," corrected Amadeus.

"Immaterial," said Nate quickly. "Shadow confronts him about it, tries to arrest him, so he shoots Sonic and kicks Shadow's ass. How am I doing so far?"

"Fine," said Sonic shortly.

"Good," replied Nate. "So, he flies out the window. No one's seen him since. Then you guys send your friend after him-"

"Antoine," interjected Amadeus.

"And then you went to find me," finished Nate. "I miss anything?"

"Oh, we're blaming the whole thing on Dragon," said Sonic pointedly. "With no proof to back it up, by the way."

"I thought that was a bit of a given," said Nate with a shrug. He sat down on the couch in Sonic's new apartment. "Nice place, by the way."

"Thanks," said Sonic. He looked around at the apartment. There was a sofa in the middle of a large, carpeted depression in the floor. Surrounding the depression of carpet was a single stair that led up to a tile flooring that made up the rest of the room. Behind the sofa was a doorless doorway to the moderately sized kitchen and to the right of that doorway was another open doorway that led down the hallway which led to the rest of the apartment. In front of the sofa was a small, but ornate fireplace and above that was a holo-generator which generated a holoscreen that acts like a TV. To the right of the sofa was a large lounge chair that sat by the door to the apartment and to the left of the sofa was a large love seat that was placed against the wall opposite the lounge chair. Sonic's train of thought was interrupted by the front door opening and closing. Sally walked in and gave Sonic a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She was holding a plastic bag in her hands. She started walking to the kitchen when she saw Amadeus and Nate in the room and stopped.

"Hello, General Prower and..." her voice trailed off and she looked at Sonic for help.

"Nate," said Sonic casually.

"Oh, hello Nate," she said. "Um... Who are you?"

"Hello, I'm the one who tried to shoot Tails through the heart three years ago," he said as he walked over to her. "Sorry I didn't get to meet you at the wedding, but I was busy that night."

"Ah," said Sally confusedly. She didn't have any response ready for the slightly strange greeting that had been given to her by the sniper. He held out a hand to shake and she shook it, a little awkwardly as she was still recovering from the shock. "What are you all doing here?"

"We came here to try and see how we should go about finding Tails," explained Sonic.

"Oh, still haven't found him?" she asked sympathetically.

"Nope," sighed Amadeus shortly.

"So, what's the plan then?" asked Sally.

"Well, we did send Antoine out on a search," said Amadeus.

"But we haven't been able to get a hold of him or figure out where he is," finished Sonic.

"So that's our next step," declared Nate happily. "Find Antoine and see if he's found anything."

"Okay, well nice to meet you Nate," said Sally as he started for the kitchen. "And nice to see you again, General. And, Sonic." Sonic turned to face her. "You'd better find Tails. Soon." She headed into the kitchen and left them alone.

"So, how do we find Antoine?" Sonic asked quietly, turning back to face Nate and Amadeus.

"I don't know," said Nate. "Maybe we should-" He was cut off by a knock at the door. Sonic walked to the door and answered it. He found Shadow waiting at the door, accompanied by three other G.U.N. agents, one a Mobian and the other two human.

"Shadow, what do you want?" asked Sonic quickly.

"Search warrant signed by the king himself," said Shadow as he held up a piece of paper to Sonic's face. "I have King Elias on my side on this. If Tails did this, the king agrees that he shouldn't receive special treatment. He believes that Tails should be held accountable for his crimes. We suspect that he'd hide here."

"Well, search all you like," invited Sonic somewhat angrily. "You won't find him, he's not here."

"Well, then let me in," said Shadow. Sonic looked them all over for a second before replying.

"Only you," he told Shadow flatly. "They can wait out here." He pointed to the three agents behind him.

"Fine," growled Shadow. Sonic let him in. "I'll also need to ask you three a couple questions." He pointed to the three in the room. "Hello, Nate. They drag you into all this?"

"Not really," said Nate casually. "Sonic gave me a little bit of a nudge, but my interest was piqued. I've been kinda bored lately. I needed something to do. Hey, you got any jobs I can do down at G.U.N.? I'm sort of strapped for cash."

"Sorry, none right now," said Shadow with a shrug as he looked around.

"What kinds of questions?" asked Amadeus calmly.

"Just about what you've all been doing today," said Shadow, equally as calmly.

"Well, ask away," said Sonic, still impatient.

"Nah, I'd rather do any questioning down at headquarters," said Shadow.

"Not happening," said Sonic sharply. "If you want me in an interrogation room, you'll have to catch me first, faker. I don't care what Elias says."

"Fine," said Shadow dismissively.

"Okay, if you guys are gonna be staying here right now, is there anything I can make for you guys?" Sally asked as she stepped out of the kitchen. "Oh, Shadow, what are you doing here?"

"Making sure we're not harboring a 'fugitive'," Sonic put air quotes around "fugitive".

"You actually let him in?" asked Sally with a cocked eyebrow.

"No, he had a warrant," grumbled Sonic. "Signed by your brother."

"Good," said Sally. "If he's got a warrant from the king, it means he has to follow it to the letter. If he's only here to find Tails, then that's all he can do. He can't do anything else." Sally smiled smugly. "But that doesn't mean that we can't be hospitable. You want anything, Shadow?"

"No, thanks," said Shadow calmly. "And I can take anything if I have probable cause."

"You're on foreign turf here, Shadow," said Sally. "Technically speaking, anyway. Any probable cause is gonna be on really shaky grounds. I wouldn't rock the boat. Especially while searching the princess's home."

"Was that a threat, Princess?" asked Shadow suspiciously.

"Nope, just a warning from a friend," said Sally smartly. Then her tone turned more serious. "Look, I wanna find Tails as much as you all want to, but that's all this better be from now on. You may both deny it, and nothing big may have happened yet, but I can smell the testosterone here, Sonic and Shadow. Whatever this thing between you two is with this mess, whether it's showing the other up or trying to prove a point or whatever, stow it, now. This isn't about you two. Neither of you have enough proof to prove the other wrong, no matter which theory sounds crazier. Now, Tails is out there doing who knows what and he's the only one who can actually set this straight. So play nice and work together so we can clean this up. Got it?" She gave a sharp look to Sonic.

"Yes, ma'am," said Sonic submissively. She gave the same look to Shadow.

"Yes, ma'am," said Shadow.

"Good," said Sally shortly. She looked at Amadeus and Nate. "Now, why don't you two come in the kitchen and tell me what you want to eat. It's almost six, so you guys need some dinner." Amadeus and Nate both walked slowly into the kitchen, leaving Sonic and Shadow alone.

"Look, she's right," said Sonic after a couple minutes, breaking the silence. "I just wanna find Tails. I don't even know if I am right. I just can't accept what's right if I'm wrong. I just wanna set the whole thing straight, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," said Shadow quietly. "How about this? I screw the warrant, send the agents home, get someone to clock me out, and help you look for him."

"Sounds like a plan," said Sonic. "So, you want something to eat, then?"

"Yeah, okay," said Shadow. He followed Sonic into the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Tails was sitting on the bed in the dark room, thinking about what he was gonna do next when the door opened. Lucy stepped in and closed the door behind her. She walked over to the bed and sat down next to him.<p>

"Hey," she said somewhat cheerfully. "So, the master's gonna send your friend home soon. He's gonna need your help."

"What does he need me for?" grumbled Tails.

"Sorry, can't say," said Lucy. "But, since you don't trust him, I can assure you that he doesn't plan on killing your friend. He told me that there wouldn't be any permanent damage. As long as you cooperate."

"And I'm supposed to trust you?" asked Tails skeptically.

"Why not?" asked Lucy softly. She moved closer to him. "Why would I lie to you? I'm not a sadistic psychopath like him." She looked him in the eye. "I'm just a girl who grew up with a special gift that made her a target of ridicule for all the 'normal' kids. I'm sure you can relate to that, having that _sweet_ second tail, which I find kind of cool, by the way." Her voice got slowly quieter as she moved in closer on Tails. Tails had no idea what was happening. One minute, the cute fox was sitting by him on the bed, the next, he was up against the wall, arms around her, lips pressed to each other in a kiss. They sat there and kissed each other for another minute. Tails couldn't stop himself. He didn't even know this girl, but it felt good. _He_ felt good. He felt like everything outside the room had melted away. That there wasn't a psychopath pulling all the strings of his life right now or that he was being hunted by the authorities. He felt like there was just this. Here. Nothing else. After another minute, Lucy finally broke the kiss and stepped back somewhat awkwardly.

"Well, um, like I said," she said quickly. "Um, he'll be here in a few to bring you out to help with your friend. Um, well..." Her voice trailed off and she looked away, embarrassed. She turned quickly and walked out nervously. After she had left, Tails leaned his head back on the wall and looked up at the ceiling, smiling and letting out a half-sigh half-laugh. He felt great. Despite the situation he was in, he felt, for the first time that day, happy. He felt like he could do a hundred back and forth running trips to Mobotropolis. Tails just felt... Great. There's no other way he could put it. He sat and marveled at the feeling of ecstasy he was experiencing for another couple minutes. He couldn't even stop smiling. He wanted to laugh out loud. Then the smile actually turned a full one-eighty into a frown when an unwanted visitor walked into the room.

"Wow, you kissed Lucy?" Dragon said as he walked in. "Wow, I didn't even see that coming. Oh, don't worry. She's not one to kiss-and-tell. I just read that in her mind a minute ago." Tails thought he actually seemed excited. Then he toned down a couple notches. "Anyway, I need you to come with me to help get your friend ready for delivery."

"Fine," groaned Tails angrily. He got up and followed slowly. He was honestly dreading what was coming next. But not even that dread could extinguish that feeling of pure ecstasy he felt. It could quench it a lot, but there was still a tiny glimmer of happiness that shined through that dread.

"You promise he'll live?" asked Tails as he followed Dragon down a hallway.

"Not even any permanent damage," said Dragon casually. "He'll be good as new again. It'll take a little time to heal, but it won't be very life-changing for him. You, on the other hand, it might be very life-changing."

"I can handle that," said Tails dismissively. He didn't know if he could, but all he cared about right now was getting Antoine out of danger.

* * *

><p>Antoine woke up feeling groggy. He didn't even remember how he had been knocked out. He remembered sitting in that dark closet, staying quiet like he had been told, then nothing. He got up on all fours and looked up at where he was. He was in a dark room, but that's all he could ascertain before his eyes fell on a trio of Mobians a couple yards in front of him. There was the black dog from the closet in the center of the trio and there were two foxes standing on either side of him. Antoine recognized Tails as the one on the right hand side of the dog.<p>

"Oh, Tails, thank you," said Antoine, light French accent creeping into his speech out of fear. "You 'ave come to save me."

"Sorry, Commander D'Coolette," said the dog. "He's not here to save you. He's here to help _me_. And I'm also sorry to say this, but..." He raised a gun at Antoine.

"N- No!" shouted Antoine fearfully. "But I was quiet, yes? You said that all I had to do was be quiet and I would be going 'ome to Bunnie." Antoine tried to move, but he found that his legs seemed to be stuck to the floor, like they were being held there by some unseen force.

"Oh, you will be going home to your wife, alive too," said Dragon reassuringly. "But I need to send a message. Back off. Tails is mine now. You're an example, Commander. Tell your friends that if they continue to hunt for Tails, then what I'm about to do isn't even close to the worst I can do." He braced for the kickback of the gun when he was interrupted by Tails.

"Stop!" he shouted, throwing his hand up. "I wanna do it." He held his hand out for the gun. Dragon handed it to him and he walked up to Antoine.

"Why are you doing this, Tails?" asked Antoine, voice breaking slightly. "We are friends."

"I have new friends now," said Tails maliciously. "Say 'hi' to Sonic for me." He smiled evilly as he put the gun to Antoine's chest, right under his left shoulder. He pulled the trigger and watched as Antoine fell to the floor, blood blossoming out from the wound into his cadet uniform. All Antoine remembered after that was Tails staring down at him, expressionless with cold eyes. Then he blacked out.

* * *

><p>"Okay, so Antoine took a cruiser, right?" asked Shadow.<p>

"I'm assuming so," said Amadeus a he took a bite of food from the plate in front of him. "He was looking for Tails, so skyscraper rooftops would have been a great hiding place for Tails."

"So we see what cruiser he checked out, find the pilot that took him out, and ask him what happened," said Shadow.

"Good idea," said Sally as she took a bite of spaghetti. "We can leave in a few. We can probably get the info we need from the Mobotropolis military base. We don't even have to go to Station Square."

"That'll save time," said Sonic. "I can't carry you all there. We'd have to take a train or a car."

"Okay, well finish dinner and then leave," said Nate. He took a bite of chow mein that he had made for himself in the kitchen. Then there was a knock at the door and Sally got up to answer it. She opened the door and let out a shriek of surprise after she opened it up. Antoine literally tumbled into the room through the door, half-conscious and soaked in blood down his front.

"Well, I guess we don't need to go after all," said Nate with a sigh.

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay! How'd you like it? What's gonna happen with Tails and Lucy? Why did Tails leave a mysterious note in Antoine's wallet? Will Antoine actually survive? Find out next chapter. I'm gonna update ASAP, but first I gotta actually write the chapter. So, review, praises and flames okay, favorite, alert, tell friends, and always bring a pillow to school with you. (Sorry, not my best final statement. I'm running out of ideas.)<br>**


	5. Member

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, chapter five is DONE! This chapter is a little slow, but important and it's leading up to something big. No details now. Just read and enjoy...  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Tails was sitting on the bed in the dark office when he heard the door behind him open. He didn't care who was there, he just wanted to be left alone. He couldn't believe what was happening to him. He was just forced, against his will, to shoot one of his closest friends. Now he was sure everyone would think he did do all the stuff he had been blamed for before. Antoine's testimony alone would probably be enough to put him away for a long time. All he could do was hope that someone would find the note he left in Antoine's wallet.<p>

Tails turned to look at whoever had just entered the room. He found Lucy standing behind him, watching him with sympathy in her eyes.

"You okay, Tails?" she asked quietly.

"Gee, what do you think?" asked Tails sarcastically.

"Sorry, I just..." her voice trailed off.

"What do you want?" asked Tails quietly, turning away from her.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," said Lucy.

"Well, I'm not," said Tails quietly, turning around fully to face her. "I was just forced to shoot my friend. Now I'm gonna be blamed for everything."

"Well, at least they won't find you," said Lucy quietly. "The master made sure that your friend doesn't remember anything about your location."

"Yeah, that's good," said Tails sarcastically. "Now I have to stay here and do what I'm told or you and your 'master' go after my friends." Lucy sighed softly, sat down next to Tails on the bed, put her arms around him, and leaned her head on his shoulder. "No." Tails shrugged her off and looked at his shoes.

"Tails-" started Lucy.

"No," Tails cut her off shortly. "I can't. I can't do this. I don't know what I was thinking before, but this doesn't even have a chance of working. I barely even know you, I can't even trust you. For all I know, you're just doing this to try and keep me here. Or you're being Dragon's puppet. Or something that I haven't even thought of yet. Point is I can't even trust that this is real. Lucy, I like you, but neither of us is in any position to be doing anything like this. I've gotta find some way to clear my name and you're an apprentice to my greatest enemy. Maybe if I get outta here and prove my innocence and you decide to leave the psychopath, but until then, just leave me alone." It actually killed him to say those words. His stomach felt like it had just done an Olympic tumbling routine for the gold. Lucy stood up and started walking away. Then she turned around and faced him with a stern look and cold eyes.

"Fine, if that's the way you want it," she said coldly. "But I never was playing you or using you. I genuinely liked you, Tails. You wanna know the reason that I followed him in the first place? It was because I'd grown up all my life feeling totally out of place with my power. When I walked down a school hallway, the lights in the ceiling flickered and went out when I walked by them. Every time I used a computer, it would crash or shut down or the screen would start freaking out on me. Anyone who was by me and talking on a cell phone would either get their ear shocked or have their call dropped.

"Then I met the master. He came and told me that he knew what was happening. That there wasn't anything wrong with me, like I'd believed all my life. He taught me how to control it and use it to my own advantages. Sure, he seemed a bit crazy and I saw him do some pretty sick things to some people, but I felt accepted by him. I felt like I belonged. Then we found a couple others and I felt like they were my friends. Then we found you. He had told us about you and we all thought you were never gonna fit in. But then I saw you asleep on that bed and... I dunno... Something just clicked for me. I felt better than I ever had around you. And that was even before you woke up.

"But if you think that I'm using you or something like that, then you better get comfortable here, because now we're just guard and prisoner. I'm gonna make sure that you're never let outta here."

"Well, fine!" said Tails angrily. "Leave! I'll get outta here myself. I don't care what happens to me out there. It's a _million_ times better than anything that'll happen to me here!" Lucy turned sharply and left the room without a word, slamming the door loudly behind her. Tails was seething. He felt like punching the entire wall down and hitting it until it was a giant pile of dust. But instead, Tails laid his head on the pillow and tried to fall asleep.

* * *

><p>"ANTOINE!" screamed a frightened Sally. Sonic and Shadow immediately rushed over to him, followed shortly by Amadeus and Nate.<p>

"Okay, General, get something to staunch the bleeding," said Nate quickly. Amadeus ran into the kitchen. "Sonic, Shadow, very carefully, but quickly, lift him up and gently lay him on the sofa. Princess, um... Just stay back, I guess." Sonic and Shadow lifted Antoine up, Sonic lifting him up by the back, Shadow taking his legs. They took him to the couch and gently laid him down on it. Amadeus came out with a first aid kit in his hand. Nate looked through it. "Sonic, go get me some tweezers and a needle and some thread." Sonic ran into the kitchen while Nate started removing Antoine's uniform. "Wait!"

"What?" almost everyone voiced the question in unison.

"Um..." Nate seemed at a loss for words. "This wound's already been bandaged."

"What?" asked Sally with a cocked eyebrow. Nate removed the bandage and looked at the wound.

"Yeah, bullet removed, cleaned, stitched up, and bandaged," said Nate disbelievingly.

"Wait, what's that?" asked Sally, pointing to the bloodstained underside of the bandage in Nate's hand. Nate looked at it and found that it had something written on it. He read it over and handed it to Shadow.

"'Ask Antoine what happens to people who try to hunt me down'," Shadow read the note on the bandage aloud. "Tails signed it."

"What?" asked Sonic disbelievingly as he came out of the kitchen. "Let me see." He snatched the bandage out of Shadow's hand. He read it over himself.

"So, you still think this is all Dragon?" asked Shadow challengingly.

"Well, even if it's Tails' handwriting, I still don't think we can rule it out," said Nate as he examined and rebandaged the wound in Antoine's shoulder. "Muscle memory is part of the potential information that can be telepathically absorbed. I don't know how possible it is to do that to the point of being able to copy handwriting, but-"

"You can't rule anything out with Dragon, I know," finished Shadow with a groan. "So, we're still at square one. Nothing's changed."

"Except Antoine may have something new for us to work with," said Nate. He was listening to Antoine's heart. "Normal pulse." He looked at Antoine's face closely. "Hey, he's waking up." Sure enough, Antoine's eyes were wide open and he was breathing heavily. "Or having a panic attack."

"Aghhhh!" screamed Antoine in a panic. "'Elp me! Please! No! BUNNIE!"

"Antoine! Calm down!" yelled Nate quickly as he held Antoine down. Antoine was starting to thrash about violently out of panic. "It's okay! You're safe now! Calm down!" Antoine stopped thrashing as he looked around at where he was.

"Oh! Sonic ze hedgehog," he said quickly with a sigh of relief. "And ze princess. And ze general. And a strange human I have never seen before. And Shadow ze hedgehog. Oh, zank God. I was 'aving a 'orrible dream, but 'ow did I- AH!" He yelped out in pain as he tried to move his wounded arm. "What 'appened to my shoulder?"

"Well, that's what we'd like to find out," said Shadow quietly. "What happened, Antoine?"

"Tails shot him," said Nate shortly.

"Yes, I remember zat," said Antoine quickly. "'E shot me. 'E was with zat crazy dog zat kidnapped him zree years ago. And zere was another. I've never seen 'er before. She was a fox, zough."

"See, Sonic?" said Shadow. "Tails is with him. He shot Antoine. He's probably getting real friendly with that fox, too."

"So, you're suggesting that Tails ran off with a crazed psychopath, robbed a jewelry store, and tried to kill me and Antoine all for a girl?" asked Sonic with a laugh of disbelief.

"Yeah, that's a bit of a reach, Shadow," said Sally pointedly.

"Well, let's think about it," said Shadow defensively. "Okay, none of us have seen Tails for months. Maybe some of us saw him at the wedding, but before that, the only one here who's seen him is his father. Tails and Sonic are best friends, but all of the sudden, Sonic's being distracted by Sally. Tails, driven a little crazy by loneliness, possibly jealousy, thinks that he should take a leaf out of his hero's book and get himself a girlfriend.

"Then a certain dog finds him and puts another offer out to teach him telekinesis, like he did last time. Tails even said the only reason he didn't go with it was because he didn't want to leave us and let us think he was dead. So, Tails agrees, who knows, maybe it was a little reluctantly, but then he's reeled into it completely by a cute girl-fox."

"Let me reiterate the crazy part," said Sonic with a snarky smile. "You're saying that Tails did all of this, attempted murder and robbery, for a girl."

"Maybe not totally for the girl, but he probably sees it as a nice perk," said Shadow.

"Okay, boys," said Sally. "Any scenarios we posit here will just be stories without having Tails here to set things straight and without any evidence to back it up. So, why don't we just let Antoine finish his story?"

"Wait," said Amadeus calmly. "How did Nate know that Tails shot Antoine before Antoine even said a word about it?"

"Oh!" said Nate quickly. Then he turned to Antoine. "May I?" He gestured to the jacket, requesting to take it off. Antoine nodded his approval and Nate slowly and carefully removed his jacket, leaving Antoine bare-chested. Nate pointed to the wound. "This is the exact same place that I shot Tails at the cafe three years ago. I just assumed that it was Tails, or someone trying to frame Tails, like a kind of signature."

"So, it was Tails," said Shadow.

"Yes, it was," said Antoine quietly. "'E shot me in ze chest. 'E did it right in front of me. 'E even stopped zat dog from doing it."

"What?" asked Sonic, turning quickly to Antoine, eyes shining with fear.

"Zat dog was going to shoot me," said Antoine nervously, still with a light accent. "'E said he wanted to send a message. 'E said zat if you guys keep looking for Tails, zis wasn't ze worst 'e was willing to do. Zen Tails stopped 'im. 'E said zat 'e wanted to do it 'imself."

"Did he say anything else?" asked Sonic quickly.

"I asked 'im why 'e was doing zis," said Antoine. "I told 'im zat we were friends. Zen 'e said zat 'e 'ad new friends now. 'E also said to say 'hi' to you, Sonic." Sonic looked like he had been hit in the stomach with a sandbag. He stepped backwards away from the sofa, stumbling a bit, into the lounge chair. He leaned forward and bit on his finger. He looked like he was about to break. Everyone was silent. Nobody moved or made a sound, aside from Antoine groaning slightly out of pain. Finally, Shadow broke the silence.

"Well, I'm convinced now," he said quietly. "Antoine, we need a location. What's the last thing you remember that's a definitive location?"

"Um..." he said, trying hard to concentrate. "Um... In a military cruiser. I don't remember anything after zat. I was just zere. I was in ze cruiser, zen I was in ze closet zat zey were keeping me in. I don't remember where I was."

"That's Dragon," said Nate. "He probably messed with your head. Let's see if there's anything in your jacket to help us." Nate began searching the jacket.

"Okay, well I'm gonna call the Station Square Military Base and see if I can track down the pilot that flew Antoine over the Station Square skyline," said Shadow as he walked into the kitchen.

"Well, they let you keep your wallet," Nate told Antoine. "But there's nothing else in here except your cell phone." He began looking through the wallet.

"Hey, zat's mine," said Antoine in protest. "Give it ba-"

"Wait!" Nate cut him off. He took the receipt out of the wallet and looked it over. "It's a note from Tails. They must have given Tails your wallet for some reason."

"What's it say?" asked Sonic anxiously.

"It's an address," said Nate. "For a building in downtown Station Square. Oh, wait, there's a little note here."

"What's it say?" repeated Sonic.

"'Sonic, Dragon holding me here. Using me as telepathic puppet. Sorry I shot you. Didn't mean to. Please forgive me. Tails'," read Nate. Sonic got up slowly and walked over to Nate. He took the note and read it himself.

"Okay, well, we have a location," said Sonic quietly as he gave the note to Amadeus to read. "Let's do something with Antoine and go get Tails."

"Sonic, how about we wait until morning?" said Sally softly. "Let's get a doctor here to look at Antoine, put him up here in the extra room maybe, get everyone else taken care of, rest up, and go get Tails tomorrow. Bunnie is probably wondering why Antoine isn't home yet and Rosemary is probably worried sick about the general, so let's give them a call and put everyone up for the night. Okay? You need your rest." Sonic looked at her as he thought about it in silence.

"Okay," he whispered finally. Then he turned towards the kitchen. "Shadow, we have a location." Shadow came out of the kitchen with a piece of paper in his hands.

"So do I," he said quickly. "It's a building in Station Square. I got the address right here." He handed the piece of paper to Sonic.

"Yeah, we found the same thing in Antoine's wallet," said Sonic as he read the address. Amadeus handed the paper to Shadow, who read it over and looked at Sonic with a confused look. "Still convinced?"

"I have no idea," said Shadow with an annoyed sigh. "I can't tell what's what anymore. I can't tell if this is actually Tails, or if this is Dragon playing with us."

"Don't try," said Nate. "There's no way we can prove it to anyone. All this is the discovery of a possible location of Tails' whereabouts. Now, let's rest up for the night and go get him in the morning."

"Okay," said Shadow submissively. He turned to Sonic. "Sleeping arrangements?"

"Well, Antoine's getting the extra room," said Sonic. "I guess Nate and you could sleep out here, you two can decide who gets the couch. General Prower could bunk with Antoine, if he's okay with the floor. And Sally and I get our room."

"Got it," said Amadeus. "I'll go call Rosemary. You guys call a doctor for Antoine."

"Got it, I got a friend in the hospital down the road," said Nate, pulling his cell phone out. "He owes me a big favor."

"Friend?" asked Sally suspiciously.

"Friend, former client who was unable to pay up in full, what's the difference?" said Nate dismissively. "Point is, he owes me."

"I thought you killed anyone who couldn't pay you," said Sonic.

"No, I kill clients who think that they can kill me _instead_ of paying me," said Nate as he put the phone to his ear and walked into the hallway.

"Okay, so, Antoine, we've got a doctor coming to check up on you," said Sally.

"Okay, good, zank you," said Antoine quietly.

"Accent back now?" asked Sonic with a smug smile.

"Yes, sorry, nervous 'abit," said Antoine. He cleared his throat. "That better?" His accent was gone.

"Does it matter?" asked Sally.

"Yes," said Antoine. "I have to get used to speaking like this if I'm gonna work with G.U.N."

"G.U.N.?" asked Sally confusedly.

"Sorry, princess, that's classified information," said Antoine.

"Why does Sonic know?" asked Sally.

"I didn't tell him," said Antoine. "The General did."

"Whatever," said Sally submissively, deciding that the argument probably wasn't worth it. "I'll go make up the guest-bed and get a couple sleeping bags." She disappeared into the hallway and Shadow walked into the kitchen. Nate came out of the hallway.

"Okay, the doctor will be here in a few minutes," he told Antoine and Sonic. "He said that Antoine shouldn't use his arm too much."

"Got it," grumbled Antoine.

"Hey, is there anything I can get you to eat?" asked Sonic. "Or, rather, have Sally get you something?"

"Um, I don't know," said Antoine. "What do you have?"

"Hold on," said Sonic quickly. He walked out of the room and down the hallway to go find Sally. He ran into her as she came out of a closet carrying a large pile of sheets and sleeping bags. "Hey, Sal?"

"Yes, Sonic?" she asked as he took the pile from her.

"Hey, why don't I do this and you just go whip up something quick for Antoine?" asked Sonic quietly. "He probably needs some food and you know how I suck at cooking."

"Yeah, okay," said Sally. She left him in the hallway and walked out to the living room. Sonic took the pile to the guest-room and took about ten minutes to make the guest-bed. He left a sleeping bag on the floor next to it for Amadeus. He went back to the closet and took two blankets out. He took the blankets out to the living room and laid them on the couch, which was now unoccupied as Antoine had relocated to the kitchen. Sonic could hear him talking to someone. Sonic entered the kitchen and found everyone in there sitting at the small table in the back of the room. Sally and Amadeus each had a glass of tea, Shadow and Nate each had a soda, and Antoine had a glass of water. Sonic grabbed a soda out of the fridge and looked for a place to sit, only to find that there wasn't any room.

"Oh, you can sit here, Sonic," invited Sally, getting up from her seat. Sonic walked over to the chair and sat down, letting Sally sit down in his lap.

"So, the doctor just left," said Nate. "He said that Antoine doesn't need a sling and that he's totally fine, so long as he stays out of firefights. He also wrote a prescription for pain killers for him."

"Good," said Sonic quietly as he took a sip of his soda.

"So, what's the plan for getting Tails tomorrow?" asked Nate. "How are we gonna do this? Sneak in and take them out nice and quiet? Or go in with a huge bang and make a head-on assault?"

"I like the head-on assault idea," said Amadeus thoughtfully. "If we all sneak in, and I'm presuming separately with different targets, then Dragon and his telepathy might be able to see us coming before we do anything. But if we come in guns a blazing, then firstly, we'll all be together, and secondly, we'll outnumber them."

"Good strategy, plus, if we can free Tails, we'll have him on our side, too," said Sonic.

"That'll be a game changer for them," said Amadeus.

"So, we'll get up early tomorrow and make a battle plan," said Shadow. "I'll try and get a 3D schematic of the building before I go to bed. We can upload it to the holo-generator and plan our attack move-by-move."

"Good," said Sally. "But, for now, let's just take the time to rest up. We're gonna need our rest."

"What do you mean 'we'?" asked Sonic sharply. "You're not coming with."

"The hell I'm not," argued Sally defensively. "I'm coming with to get Tails whether you like it or not."

"No way!" protested Sonic. "I am not letting that psycho-dog anywhere near you. No. You're staying here."

"No, I'm coming with you," said Sally determinedly.

"Then who's gonna take care of Antoine?" asked Sonic.

"Antoine doesn't need someone to take care of him," said Sally pointedly.

"Yes I do, princess," said Antoine. "I need someone to change my bandages. The doctor said every eight hours."

"The doctor never said that," said Sally disbelievingly. "And can't you change it yourself?"

"Yes he did," said Antoine. "He said that to me and Nate, didn't he?" He looked to Nate, who nodded quickly. "And I get terribly dizzy at the sight of blood. I'm gonna need to be blindfolded when you do it." Sally stared at all of them with her mouth open, trying to find an argument to make. After a few seconds, she growled angrily and stormed out.

"Thanks, 'Twan," said Sonic with a relieved sigh. "Do you really get squeamish around blood?"

"No," said Antoine with a sly smile. "And I don't need the bandage changed for like a day. Maybe even two. I just didn't want her going either. This is what he did to me to get to you, Sonic. Sally's going to be his number one target if you bring her along."

"Thanks, Ant," said Sonic quietly, but gratefully. "Okay, well, I'm gonna hit the sack. I am exhausted. G'night." Sonic got up to leave. "There's a sleeping bag in Antoine's room for you, Amadeus. Shadow and Nate, you two can decide for yourselves who gets the sofa." He walked out the door and was followed by various goodnights from everyone. He walked into the bedroom to find Sally sitting out on the small terrace outside the sliding-glass door.

"Hey, Sal," he said quietly. He walked over to her and leaned against the chair she was sitting in. "I know you wanna go and save Tails with us, but I really don't want you in reach of the psycho. Last time I went up against him, I actually almost lost. If he had killed Tails that day, that funeral for Knuckles would have been an all-out memorial service for me, Knuckles, Tails, Shadow, and Amy. He had us all, Sally. I had actually given up. Tails was the only reason I didn't die that day. And I don't want him getting anywhere near you." Sally looked up at him. She wasn't angry. He knew that she understood why he didn't want her going.

"Okay, Sonic," she said quietly. She stood up and hugged him tightly. "Just promise you'll come back."

"I will," said Sonic quietly. "And I'm not the only person who's worried about you. Antoine just lied his ass off to your face because he didn't want you going either. That whole squeamish thing was a total lie. And so was the bandage-changing."

"Okay, well I'll have fun with that tomorrow," said Sally mischievously as she let go of Sonic and walked back into the bedroom. "You coming to bed now?"

"In a minute," said Sonic as he walked to the railing on the terrace. He leaned on it and gazed out at the buildings below. He was staring out at the horizon, too. At the place that he knew Tails was being held prisoner. "I'm coming, little buddy. Just you wait. I'll save you." Sonic turned and headed into the bedroom, closing the sliding-glass door behind him. He kicked off his shoes and discarded his gloves and rolled into the bed, where Sally was waiting for him.

* * *

><p>Tails awoke from his dreamless sleep to the sound of voices. He rolled over in the bed and found two teenage boys, one a brown-furred Mobian wolf and the other a white-skinned human. They we're talking to each other. Tails couldn't make out what they were saying as he was still waking up and their voices sounded muffled to him. He put his hand in front of his face because the lights in the room now seemed very bright to him.<p>

"Hey," he said as he squinted at the boys, trying to adjust to the light. "Who are you guys?"

"We're the master's other apprentices," said the wolf smugly. "And you're the new guy."

"Yeah, you already met Lucy," said the human casually. "We just got back from our hunt for you in Mobotropolis. It took a while to get back, but we made it."

"Yeah, and we heard that you did more than just 'meet' Lucy," said the wolf as he sat on the bed. Tails sat up to meet the wolf at eye level.

"Yeah, so?" said Tails with a cocked eyebrow.

"So, you're here for a day and you've already done what I've wanted to do for at least three months," said the wolf. "And then you went and screwed it up. Lucy's not very trusting. It's gonna take a lot for you to get back on her good side."

"Okay, well, I'm trying to figure out if I'm on your guys' good side or not right now," said Tails.

"Well, you're on my good side already," said the wolf. "When the master started talking about you, I thought you were never going to fit in with us, but if you can get with Lucy on your first day here, there's gotta be something really good about you."

"Okay, cool," said Tails. "And you?" They both looked at the human. He had blonde hair, a little more yellow than Lucy's, and he was wearing a white zip-up hoody with a blue T-shirt under it and a pair of loose, blue jeans. He was also wearing white sneakers. He was examining Tails carefully.

"Haven't decided," he said thoughtfully after a few more seconds of silence. Tails' attention was jerked back to the wolf as he put his hand out for Tails to shake.

"Name's Jeremy," he said welcomingly. "Sixteen. Telekinetic. Wolf, if you haven't noticed yet." He was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a loose, blue T-shirt, and a black, leather jacket. Tails took his hand and shook it slowly.

"My name's Miles Prower," said Tails. "But everyone calls me Tails." Then he added "For obvious reasons."

"Mine's Spencer," said the human calmly. "Sorry, no handshakes."

"That's fine," said Tails quietly. He yawned and looked around the room. It had just occurred to him that he hadn't looked for a clock before. When he didn't find one, he turned to Jeremy. "What time is it?"

"It's about three in the morning," he said, looking at his watch. "It's okay. When you're here, you get used to a pretty erratic sleep schedule."

"Okay," said Tails. "So, if you're the telekinetic-" He pointed to Jeremy. "Then you must be the seer." He pointed at Spencer.

"No, I'm a telekinetic, too," he said pointedly. "There used to be a seer, but he sorta deserted us. We picked up Jeremy here a few months ago after he left."

"Ah," said Tails. "So, are either of you any good?"

"I'm pretty good," said Spencer smugly. "I could definitely beat you in a fight."

"Well, that depends on what kind of fight we're talking about," said Tails pointedly. "If we're talking about a telekinetic fight, you'd win. But if we're talking a real fight, then I'd be able to kick your ass."

"That sounds like a challenge," said Spencer.

"So take it," challenged Tails with a smile.

"Fine," said Spencer. Tails was on him before he finished speaking. He aimed a kick at Spencer's head, but Spencer was able to duck it at the last second. Tails landed behind him and aimed a telekinetic punch at him, but he blocked it with a shield he made in front of him. Then he grabbed Tails by the torso and flung him across the room. Tails hit the wall with a dull, hard _thud_ and tumbled to the floor.

"Okay, that was good," panted Tails. Tails pulled a knife out of his show, hiding it with his hand. "Let's see if you can stop this." Tails launched the knife at Spencer, only to see it stop in midair by his face. "Oh shit."

"Nice," said Spencer amusedly. "I almost didn't catch that." He dropped the knife out of the air and crossed his arms. "You should really give up now. You're gonna get yourself hurt."

"What fun would that be?" asked Tails with a smart smile. In an instant, he was speeding at Spencer like a bullet, running with his tails propelling him forward. Everything slowed down for him. He saw Spencer beginning to reach out at Tails, trying to grab the speeding fox. Tails was already a quarter of the way from Spencer. He jumped up and started flying at Spencer feet first. He tucked his arms to his side and straightened his legs, turning himself into something similar to a flying fox-bullet. He went right by Spencer, missing on purpose by a couple inches. When he was right beside him, Tails twisted in midair, letting out as big a telekinetic push as he could muster up. The result was a vertical shockwave jetting out from the flying fox and sending Spencer into the wall, where he tumbled back down onto the bed. Tails landed on his feet, coming to a bit of an abrupt stop, and looked around at Spencer, who was lying on his back on the bed, groaning painfully. He sat up with a grunt and looked at Tails.

"Nice one," he said with gritted teeth as he stood up. "But it takes a lot more than that to bring me down."

"I figured," said Tails as he grabbed the knife on the floor with his mind. He originally planned on pulling it back to himself, but decided to, instead, launch it at the human by the bed. The knife flew through the air and zinged right by Spencer's head, embedding itself in the wall behind him. "But that would have killed you. Now you're dead and I'm the victor." Tails crossed his arms confidently and smiled a cocky smile, not very different from Sonic's. Spencer turned and looked at the knife in the wall. He stared at it for a few seconds, thinking of an appropriate response. Then he turned to Tails and smiled.

"And so I am," he said with a smile. "That was very impressive. Where did you learn to throw knives?"

"Same place I learned telekinesis," said Tails as he walked over to the wall to retrieve the knife. "I taught myself." He pulled the knife out of the wall and slipped it back into his shoe.

"I think I'm gonna like you sticking around here," said Spencer.

"Me too," said Jeremy with a smile.

"I think I am, too," said Tails thoughtfully. He had a new plan in mind. "Hey, is there any way I can score a quick, private chat with the master?"

"Sure, I'll go get him," said Jeremy. He left quickly, followed closely by Spencer. Tails sat on the bed and quickly thought through what he was planning. He had to decide now if he was going to go through with it or not. He was still thinking it over when the decision was made for him by the appearance of the black dog in the room.

"You want to talk?" he asked curiously. "Well, my interest is piqued now. What on Earth could make you actually _want_ to talk to me?"

"Well, I slept on it and I think that it would be in my best interest to stay and help you," explained Tails slowly. "I'd like to learn more and I think that it's time that the world came to recognize psychics as the future leaders of the world."

"Really?" asked Dragon as he stooped down to meet Tails at eye level. He scrutinized Tails very thoroughly, as if looking for something suspicious in Tails' eyes. "Forgive me if I don't believe you, Tails. You're a smart fox and I've noticed that you've learned, rather quickly actually, how to block your thoughts from me. Forgive me if I find these attempts at secrecy a little suspicious."

"What if I were to prove my devotion to you?" asked Tails smugly.

"Well, I'd like to know how you plan to do that," said Dragon quietly.

"When I first woke up, Lucy gave me Antoine's wallet," explained Tails. "I left a note inside for Sonic, giving him my location. He and a few others should be here anytime now to come to my rescue. I think it would be a good idea to be ready for them."

"And you will fight against them?" asked Dragon. "Because that would definitely prove your devotion."

"I don't want anyone killed," said Tails flatly. "I want everyone to walk away alive. If anyone dies, you can count me out."

"Agreed," said Dragon. "You will help us establish the empire of the psychics?"

"I will help you establish the _planet_ of the psychics," said Tails maliciously.

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Has Tails actually made new friends? What's gonna happen when Sonic and the gang shows up to rescue him? I'll try to update really soon so that you don't have try to imagine what happens next. So, until then, review, favorite, tell friends, alert, and never trust any man you meet in a burger joint if he's wearing a neon-green suit. Seeya!<br>**


	6. Double Agent

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Chapter six is here! Okay, I'd like to start by saying that, if you're following my who/sonic xover, I have noticed I've been neglecting it for a while and I'm going to update that ASAP. Second thing on the list: Brace yourselves. This may be the most epic chapter I've written so far in this story. At least, I thought it was. I coulod be wrong. I'll let you judge that for me. Last thing: Writing this chapter, as epic as I thought it was, felt like rubbing sandpaper up and down my back. I was frequently struck with writer's block throughout the chapter. Some parts of the chapter are good, while others are a little sketchy, so, sorry for that. Just bear with me for this one. Okay, that's it. Read and enjoy.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Sonic woke up early in the morning. He looked at the clock on his nightstand. It was three-thirty. He sat up quietly and looked at Sally next to him, sound asleep. He quietly got out of the bed and walked out of the room. He didn't want to try to go back to sleep. He wasn't tired. He was too anxious to be tired. He walked down the hallway and into the living room, carpet silencing the steps his bare feet made. He saw Shadow on the sofa and Nate, sleeping somewhat awkwardly, on the love seat. Sonic walked into the kitchen to find the light in the back of the room on.<p>

"You couldn't sleep either?" Amadeus was sitting at the table, drinking something out of a glass. He took a sip of it and gestured to the coffee machine by the fridge. "Just made it, if you want some. Hope you don't mind."

"No, it's fine," said Sonic. He yawned and opened the fridge. He grabbed a water bottle out of it and sat down across from Amadeus. "I'm not very big on coffee. The coffee maker was a wedding gift. We'll probably never use it." Amadeus nodded his understanding.

"So, when do we get the others up?" asked Amadeus.

"How about now?" asked Sonic. "We can start planning right now."

"Okay," said Amadeus. Amadeus started to get up, but Sonic stopped him silently, raising a hand to tell him to wait. He got up and walked to the fridge. He opened it and pulled out an empty carton of milk, only to find that it was empty.

"Damn," he swore under his breath. "It's empty." He slumped back into the chair, noticing the confused expression on Amadeus's face. "I was going to drop it on Shadow's head."

"Why?" he asked confusedly.

"Oh, it's nothing," said Sonic with a dismissive wave of his hand. Amadeus sighed, shook his head in confusion, and decided to drop the matter, getting up to go wake up Shadow and Nate. Five minutes later, after a silent, but heated, argument between a reluctant-to-wake-up Nate and Amadeus and Sonic tipping the sofa forward, dumping a sleeping Shadow on the floor, the four sat in together in the kitchen making a battle plan.

"Okay, so did you get a 3D blueprint of the building?" asked Sonic with a yawn.

"Yes," said Shadow and he took a small PDA out. He tapped a button on the screen and a holographic model of the building materialized in midair over the middle of the table.

"Okay, now highlight all the office suites that are vacant," said Nate. Shadow tapped a couple more buttons on the screen and different parts of the building were highlighted in a deep red. The top five floors were completely filled in with red light. "Okay, I think they're going to be hiding out up in the top floors. They're all completely abandoned. They'll have low security, if any at all. Dragon would be able to get past it very easily. They could hold out there for a while."

"Good, I'll assemble a team and we'll take him down," said Shadow as he pulled out his phone.

"No, Shadow," said Sonic firmly. "This isn't the part where you send a small army blundering into the building. It could spook Dragon, it could get Tails killed, or it could get the whole team killed. This is the part where a small, elite team, us, goes in and gets the hostage, Tails, and finds out all the info they can about their enemy, Dragon, before blundering in. We don't have any info on Dragon except that he's alive. We need Tails to confirm a whole bunch of stuff for us before we can plan an adequate attack against Dragon." Shadow stared at Sonic, eyes widened in slight amazement. He was silent for a moment while he thought everything over.

"Fine," grumbled Shadow quietly. "When did you become the strategist?" Sonic rolled his eyes and sat down. "Okay, but we all need to stick together. I don't want anyone on their own while this psycho's in play."

"Fine," everyone agreed quietly. Nate stood up and walked to the fridge.

"Okay, let's have a quick breakfast before we go," he said casually with a smile.

* * *

><p>"Okay, lady and gents," said Dragon smartly as he spoke to the small team in front of him. "Tomorrow, we <em>were<em> planning on initiating our new team member, but he himself has thought of a way to be initiated. He says he wants to prove his loyalty to us by fighting alongside us against his old friends."

"When is that going to happen?" asked Lucy curiously.

"Sometime this morning," said Dragon. "Our new friend Tails was somehow able to get a message out to his friends using the coyote as a courier. I also was able to use him as a courier, though, as I planted a bug on him before I took him to Mobotropolis. I know they're planning on attacking sometime this morning, but they haven't really given any information as to when."

"So, what does that mean?" asked Spencer.

"It means we have to be ready for an attack at any time," said Dragon quickly.

"So, can we go, then?" yawned Jeremy.

"No, actually, Tails has a few things he'd like to say about the upcoming encounter," said Dragon. He stepped over to Lucy's side and Tails appeared in front of them.

"Okay, I'd like to set a couple rules down about the battle," said Tails calmly. "Firstly, no one is to call me Tails anymore. My name is Miles. That's what I'd like to be called. Secondly, there will be no killing today. Everyone walks away alive, or I run straight to the authorities. Do you agree to those two rules?" They all nodded slowly. Tails was surprised that no one had questioned his request for mercy for his friends. "Good. They should be here anytime, so, like master said, be ready for them." The group disbanded and everyone went in different directions.

Tails saw Lucy walk down a dark hallway alone and followed her down it. He followed her to another room. It was a large office. It was empty, save for a bed in the corner and a large desk and chair in the center. The back wall of the room was a floor-to-ceiling window that had a beautiful view of the Station Square skyline. Lucy was sitting in the chair, quietly looking out on the city.

"Hey," greeted Tails quietly, leaning up against the doorframe of the office entrance.

"What do you want?" asked Lucy coldly, not turning to face him.

"I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier," said Tails. "What I said, no matter how justified I was in saying it, must have hurt you. I wanted to apologize for hurting you."

"Thanks," said Lucy quietly. She still faced away from him, gazing out on the cityscape in front of her. Tails walked into the room, going around the desk in the center and stopping at Lucy's side quietly.

"You know," said Tails softly. "A lot of the reason I decided to stay was because of you."

"Cool," she said indifferently. Tails didn't think that she was even registering a word he said.

"Because I like you, Lucy," said Tails. "I wanted to... I don't know... I..." Tails didn't know what to say. Anything he thought of felt like it was the wrong thing to say. He was about to open his mouth to speak again, and probably fail miserably at the attempt, when he was stopped by the sound of several large crashes and glass shattering to the floor.

"What was that?" asked Lucy, finally turning to face Tails. Then she jerked her head to face the doorway when she heard a zipping sound pass by the room. It faded away for a second and then grew louder again.

"Oh, no," said Tails nervously. He knew exactly what was coming. Right as he finished the sentence, a blue hedgehog appeared in the door, face etched with determination. Before Tails could do anything, Sonic shot into the room and tackled him, grabbing Tails in his arms and flying through the window. They landed on the rooftop of the next-door building, Sonic taking the fall on his back, clutching Tails to his chest tightly.

"It's okay, little buddy, I gotcha," he said reassuringly. He let go of Tails and let him roll off his chest to his side. He pressed the switch on his wrist and spoke into the microphone on the wristband. "Okay, I've got him. Let's get outta here. I'll meet you all back at the apartment."

"No way, Sonic," he heard Shadow's voice say in the speaker in his ear. "We're outnumbered. I think they were expecting us. We need some back up here."

"Gotcha," replied Sonic. He started to get up. "So, Tails, what do ya say to goin' back in there and kickin' some psycho-dog ass?"

"Well, I'd love to, Sonic," Sonic heard Tails say from behind him as he stood up. "But there's something we need to talk about first."

"Sure, anything, buddy," said Sonic. He started to turn to face Tails. "Just make it qui-" Sonic was cut off as he turned around and met Tails' telekinetically powered fist with his face. Sonic was thrown over the edge of the building by the punch. Tails dove over the edge and flew after him, catching him halfway down and lowering him to the ground.

Tails landed next to him and turned to face him. This time, it was Tails' turn to come face-to-knuckles with a fist. Tails was thrown off his feet and landed on his back with a grunt. He looked up at Sonic, who was walking toward him menacingly, his face contorted with rage.

"I stuck up for you," he growled at Tails. He aimed a kick at Tails' side. The kick slid Tails a few feet across the sidewalk in the alley they had landed in. "I DEFENDED YOU!" Tails started backing up against the alley wall in fear, gasping for air as the kick had knocked his breath out. "I kept convincing myself that it was all Dragon." Sonic was right in front of Tails now, cornering him against the wall. "But I can only _convince_ myself of so much, _Miles_." He bent down and grabbed Tails by the fur on his chest. "Now give me one reason why I shouldn't kick your twin-tailed ass from here to prison right now, you _traitor_."

"Be- B- Because it's all a c- co- cover," stammered Tails, still gasping for breath. Sonic immediately let go of Tails and stood back up, not letting Tails up until he got an explanation. Tails finally regained his breath and inhaled deeply. "God, you punch hard."

"You punched me," said Sonic indifferently.

"You kicked me," said Tails.

"You shot me," said Sonic.

"Not on purpose, but it's still a fair point," groaned Tails dismissively.

"Now, what do you mean cover?" asked Sonic.

"I wanna be a double agent," explained Tails. "I've already integrated myself into their group, all I've gotta do is help them fight you guys off and they'll trust me. More or less."

"Is that why you punched me?" asked Sonic.

"Lucy was watching," said Tails. "I had to sell it."

"Who's Lucy?" asked Sonic with a smug smile and a cocked eyebrow. "She that girl-fox that Antoine told us about?" Tails nodded silently. "Does she have anything to do with why you want to go undercover here?"

"Maybe a little," said Tails sheepishly, averting his gaze to his shoes and rubbing the back of his head.

"Okay, you can do it," said Sonic with a sigh. "Who can and can't know?"

"You can know," said Tails. "No one else can."

"You have to let me tell your father," said Sonic. "You can't do something like this without telling him about it." Tails thought about it for a moment.

"Fine," he said finally. "But only him. The less who know, the better."

"Okay, now, one more question," said Sonic. "What's going on between you and Lucy?"

"Well, nothing now," said Tails. "But, before-"

"Before?" interrupted Sonic interestedly.

"She kissed me," said Tails as he stood up to meet Sonic at eye level.

"She kissed you?" asked Sonic.

"Yeah," said Tails softly. "It was right before I was forced to shoot Antoine. She came into my room and started talking to me. Then, one minute, she's sitting next to me on my bed. The next, I'm up against the wall with barely a clue what's going on and she's leaning over me, kissing me."

"Whoa, on your bed?" asked Sonic, eyebrows raised.

"Not like that, Sonic," said Tails with a dismissive wave. "It didn't go anywhere farther, but I really like her." Tails was silent for a moment. Then he spoke in a regretful tone. "Then I screwed it up. I said some things that got her really mad. She'll barely talk to me now."

"What'd you say?" asked Sonic curiously.

"Doesn't matter," said Tails. Sonic was silent for a moment before he voice his next question.

"What does Dragon want?" asked Sonic. "What's he planning?"

"He's planning a coup," said Tails. "He wants to topple the Kingdom of Acorn and build an empire ruled by psychics."

"Oh great, another one," sighed Sonic. "Okay, try and get me anymore details that you can. How long is this gonna take?"

"I don't know," said Tails. "I'll try and get back as soon as I can."

"You know that there are gonna be a lot of people mad at you for this," said Sonic warningly.

"I'll deal with that later," said Tails dismissively. "Right now, you and I need to bloody each other up a bit."

"Why?" asked Sonic with a cocked eyebrow.

"To sell it," said Tails. "I need them to think that I fought you down here."

"Right, fine," groaned Sonic. He readied himself with a combative stance. Tails did the same.

"Okay, go!" Tails said as he threw a telekinetic punch at Sonic. Sonic was sent flying by the force of the punch and landed on his back.

"Ow!" he exclaimed painfully. He for up and rubbed his cheek. "Damn, how'd you learn to hit that hard?"

"The same way I learned to do this," said Tails. He reached out and grabbed Sonic around the torso with his mind. He threw Sonic backward. He was thrown into the air again, hitting the ground on his stomach this time. He got up, grunting with pain, and readied himself again.

"Okay, Tails, you asked for it," said Sonic with a smile. He lunged forward in a spin-dash and sped forwards at Tails. He hit Tails full-on, sending Tails flying. "So, is this a real fight?" Tails picked himself up off the ground and turned to him.

"Yeah, just no killing," Tails said through gritted teeth.

"Okay," said Sonic. "So what happens if I win?"

"Improvise," said Tails.

"Got it," said Sonic.

"But you won't win," said Tails with a cocky smile.

* * *

><p>Amadeus was up against a wall. He had a gun in his hand. He was taking cover behind a large depression in the wall at the dead end of a hallway. From the moment he had broken through the window of the building, he had been under enemy fire. He peeked around the corner he was behind and fired a couple shots at the enemy at the other end of the hallway. He had no idea who it was, but they had been on him from the beginning. He had no idea how he let them corner him like this.<p>

Two shots in, the only thing that came from the gun was a metallic click every time he pulled the trigger. Amadeus swore as he ducked back behind the corner and exchanged his empty magazine for a full one. He cocked the gun and looked around the corner again to renew his attempt to fire, only to quickly duck behind cover again and drop to the floor as he dodged two of what looked to him like bolts of lightning that were speeding towards him. He heard a loud crash as the lightning made impact on the wall and blasted it away.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Amadeus as he saw the large, scorched hole in the wall that the lightning had left. "What the hell was that?" He slowly looked around the corner, gun at the ready, and found a teenage, female fox walking toward him menacingly. Amadeus stood up and held his gun on her. "Surrender now and I don't have to hurt you." She flicked her hand up and the gun was electrified, causing Amadeus to drop it to the floor. He bent down to pick it up, but was stopped when the female fox shot a bolt of lightning at the gun, causing the ammo in the magazine to go off. Amadeus quickly dove back from the blast, but was cut as shrapnel from the exploding gun made impact on his arms.

"No, _you_ surrender and I won't hurt you," the fox-girl retorted coldly. Amadeus was on his back, cornered against the back wall of the hallway. He put his hands up in defeat and waited for the girl to make her demands of him. Instead, she placed her hand firmly on his shoulder and he blacked out as she sent electricity coursing through his body.

* * *

><p>Nate and Shadow had gone in together. They're target was Dragon. Neither of them had planned it, they both just wanted to bring Dragon down. They both knew that Sonic would be the one find Tails and get him out, so they both had their own agendas for the mission. Somehow, each of them knew that the other had the same agenda for the same reasons. They just both wanted to take down Dragon because he was too dangerous to be left alive.<p>

Since the time they had broken through the window, they had been taking cover from telekinetic enemy fire from, what they assumed, two of Dragon's apprentices. Shadow had given Nate his gun and returned fire, instead, with chaos spears. Nate had a gun in each hand and was returning fire with said firearms. They had been at it for about fifteen minutes when things took a turn away from their favor.

Shadow and Nate were taking cover behind an overturned table that had been left behind by the office's previous renters. The apprentices were on opposite sides of the room, taking cover behind depressions in the walls and firing at Nate and Shadow from opposite angles.

"Chaos spear!" Shadow launched a bolt of chaos energy at Jeremy while Nate fired a couple shots at Spencer. They were both shielding themselves with their cover and crudely made telekinetic shields. They had both been returning fire with telekinetic gun-shots, making sure that they weren't powerful enough to kill, and had been unsuccessful at hitting wither Shadow or Nate. Then Nate popped up from behind the table and Jeremy landed a lucky shot on him. Nate fell backward from the force of the impact, but didn't sustain very much damage, other than a sweet bruise where the impact occurred.

"Nice shot!" Spencer shouted to Jeremy.

"Now, quick, grab the table and pull it down," replied Jeremy. They had tried to do that already, but it proved unsuccessful, as Nate had held it in place and they didn't have the time or focus to pull it out of his grasp while they were under fire. But now that wasn't an issue, as the main gunner had been taken out temporarily. Spencer and Jeremy both reached out at the table and pulled hard with their minds. Immediately, the table fell down onto its top, exposing Shadow and Nate to open fire.

Jeremy grabbed Nate by the torso with his mind and threw him into a wall while Spencer pulled the guns out of his hands and, rather shoddily, as he had not yet mastered the skill of holding a gun in the air steadily, held both guns on Shadow.

"Okay, hedgehog, put your hands up," said Jeremy confidently. Shadow put his hands up. Jeremy started to move in on him when he was stopped by Shadow.

"CHAOS BLAST!" shouted Shadow loudly and a shockwave of chaos energy blasted outwards from him and hit both Jeremy and Spencer head on, sending them both flying into the back wall of the room. They both fell to the floor and lay there, dazed and in shock, unable to get up for the moment. The guns dropped out of the air and clattered to the floor. Shadow picked them up and threw one to Nate, who was in a crouching position catching his breath. He caught it and they both held their guns on the two psychics. Then, suddenly, Nate was thrown into the wall again, much harder this time, and Shadow was hit over the head by something behind him.

They both slumped to the floor and blacked out, unconscious. Over Shadow stood Dragon, a wicked smile spread across his face. He bent down and picked up Shadow's gun while Nate's floated through the air to him. He grabbed it out of the air and turned to his two apprentices, who were now slowly standing up. His smile immediately turned into a frown.

"Get up, both of you!" he barked angrily. "I can't believe these two bested you. You two are psychics. Act like it!"

"Sorry, master, but we would have gotten it done a lot faster if we could have killed them," said Spencer as he rubbed his neck. "Why are you letting Miles make the rules about that?"

"Because I need him," growled Dragon. "Now, we have them, so, each of you, take one." They obeyed and each grabbed one with his mind and carried them in the air out of the room.

* * *

><p>Amadeus woke up with a headache and no memory of what had happened to him. All he knew when he first awoke was the he was tied up and sitting on the floor, bound at his hands and feet, with a rope around his chest. He felt two people next to him. It was Shadow and Nate. They were waking up, too. Amadeus looked around. They were in an empty conference room. In front of him was a big, black dog in jeans and a leather jacket. He had only seen the dog in a photograph once before, but he still hated him all the same. The dog bent down and met Amadeus at eye level.<p>

"Well, you're a new face in this group, aren't you?" Dragon asked maliciously. "Well, time for introductions. No doubt you already know my name. Or what you whole little group here calls me. My name is Dragon. And you've already met Lucy." He gestured to someone that Amadeus couldn't turn around to see. A few seconds later, a female fox walked into his line of vision. Then Amadeus remembered what had happened. He remembered her shooting lightning at him and tasing him into unconsciousness. Dragon walked around Amadeus and came to Shadow. Nate turned his head to face him. "And you two. You two met my other two apprentices. Sorry, they're not as experienced as Lucy."

"Lucy," said Shadow slowly. He turned to face her as best as he could. "Are you and Tails involved in any way?" Lucy rotated around the tied-up group and stopped in front of Shadow.

"No," she said indifferently.

"Where is Tails anyway, Lucy?" asked Dragon.

"Sonic got him outta here a long time ago," said Shadow.

"No," said Lucy calmly. "No, Miles is fighting that living, blue bullet. I saw it myself. Sonic tackled him out a window and landed on the next door roof. Then Miles punched him in the face and let Sonic fall off the building."

"You think I'd believe that story?" growled Amadeus angrily.

"I saw it happen," said Lucy smugly with a smart grin.

"You're saying that Tails betrayed us?" asked Shadow.

"He was the one who told us you were coming," said Dragon evilly. "He told us to be ready. He told us about the note he left in Commander D'Coolette's wallet. He lured you here to us. He was so eager to prove his loyalty to us. So eager to show that he wanted to help us."

"Help you with what?" asked Nate quickly.

"Oh, Phoenix, just wait and see," said Dragon in an evil sing-song voice.

"You're lying," growled an outrage Amadeus. "Miles would never do that!" Then, as if on cue, there was the loud crash of glass shattering and something in the hallway outside the conference room hit the wall of the room and crashed through it, ripping a giant hole out of the wall. They all turned to look, Shadow, Nate, and Amadeus struggling against the bindings to see what had crashed through the wall. There was dust everywhere. They heard a cough and saw the silhouette of a limp figure on the large piece of wall that was now on the floor. Then they saw another silhouette in the dust. It was a figure walking into the room. They heard the figure's footsteps on the wall-floor. As the silhouette outline became clearer through the dust, everyone saw the two tails of the figure.

"Tails!" exclaimed Shadow relievedly. "C'mon, get us outta here! Where's Sonic?"

"Well, he's right here, Shadow," said Tails from behind the cloud of dust as they watched his silhouette bend down and look at the figure on the ground. They saw the figure shudder slightly as they heard a cough ring out.

"Please... Tails..." they all heard Sonic's voice come from the figure. "Little buddy... Don-(cough) Don't do this..." His voice was hoarse and it sounded like he was choking the words out of himself. Tails stood up again and lifted his hand up, raising it over Sonic. Sonic was lifted off the ground and into a standing position. Then Tails held out his other hand and snapped his fingers. A shockwave resounded from the snap of the fingers and cleared the dust away with a soft whooshing sound. The dust cleared to reveal the fox and hedgehog, but what was seen about them caused the three tied-up heroes to gasp in shock. Even Dragon's eyes widened in surprise. Jeremy and Spencer's jaws were dropped and Lucy put her hand over her mouth to stifle a small gasp.

On the wall-floor stood Tails, who had sustained several minor cuts on his chest, arms, and legs. He had a black eye and a small bit of the top of his ear was missing, blood dripping down from where the tip was severed. The fur on his face was caked in blood and dirt and there was blood running from his mouth and one of his nostrils.

Sonic looked a lot worse, though. His stomach and face were a mixture of black, red, and purple-blue with a small tint of its usual tan color. One of his eyes was swelled shut, blackened. His nose had a trial of dried blood underneath it and his mouth was still dripping blood. His fur was caked with blood and dirt and one of his gloves was missing and the other was bloodstained and torn up. He groaned painfully as Tails lowered him to his feet. Tails let go of him and he tumbled to the floor, barely catching himself as he dropped to his knees. He coughed again and spat blood on the floor as he did.

"No, Sonic, I think I will," said Tails casually. Then his face took on an angry expression. "I sent a message! Well, I guess that's what I get for using Antoine as a courier, isn't it? I should have sent a blimp, huh? I made it painfully clear! Don't come for me! Antoine was an example of that! Why do you think I shot him in the same place I got shot!" He poked the spot on his shoulder, feeling the small scar with his ungloved finger. Then he gestured to Sonic. "Well, I just hope that this message-" He pulled Sonic's face up for them to see again. "-comes across a lot clearer.

"Now, I'm going to give you all a chance to walk out of here alive. I've asked everyone here not to kill you, but they can only keep holding back for so long. So I'm gonna untie you and you're all going to leave without another word or action." He walked over to the group and cut the ropes tying them together with a flick of his hand.

"Tails, you traitor!" growled Shadow angrily. "When I get back to headquarters, you aren't gonna be able to hide anywhere. By this time next week, you're gonna be either on death row or in prison for life for everything you've done in the last twenty four hours. I'm talking _planet-wide_ manhunts, satellites, and whole charity events devoted specifically to finding you-"

"Go ahead, Shadow," interrupted Tails coldly. "You'll never find me." He started to walk away. "Now, get out." He exited the room as they all stood up. Amadeus walked like he was blind. He acted like he had no idea where he was or who he was. Nate helped guide him out of the room while Shadow helped Sonic, putting Sonic's arm around his shoulder and helping him walk out.

* * *

><p>Tails was sitting in an empty office, watching the sun rise out the window. It was six in the morning now. It had been an hour and a half since Sonic and the rest of the group had left. Dragon walked into the room and stood beside Tails.<p>

"Your little performance tonight was quite impressive," said Dragon quietly. "But it leaves us with a problem. I needed an inside man, and what you just did basically ruled you out for that job."

"Don't worry," said Tails reassuringly. "I thought about that. I fed Sonic a story about being a double agent for him. I told him to keep it a secret. I also told him to tell the king about it and my father, but that's it. That should take care of it, should I go back to them. All they'd need is Elias's sign-off on the matter and I'm good." Tails was silent for a minute before he spoke again. "But that means that Shadow is still going to be looking for me, so we need a new place to stay."

"I'm way ahead of you on that," said Dragon calmly.

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, first, I'd like to clear something up. I know that I didn't include the part about talking to Elias in the conversation between Tails and Sonic. The part about Elias occurred during the fight itself, which I did not include. Or even write. So, yeah... Anyway, how'd you like it? Was it as epic as I said it would be, or did I hype it up too much? Who's side is Tails really on? Is he working for Dragon, Sonic, or is he working to his own agenda? Find out next time. But until then, same ol', same ol'. Review, favorite, alert, tell friends, and shake the hand of every monkey your brothersister/grandmother dates. Bye!**


	7. Boyfriend

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Chapter seven is here! Okay, this chapter is basically showing the effects that Tails' "betrayal" has on Sonic's life and Tails' life with Dragon's crew, so it's not really a fast-paced, action-packed chapter. I also channeled a bit of my romantic side to write this chapter, as part of it is centered around Tails and Lucy. Anyway, that's enough of that. Read and enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Sonic arrived at his apartment with a near-catatonic Amadeus in tow. He felt like someone had run over him with a truck. And a tank. And then landed on him with a helicopter.<p>

He walked through the door to find Antoine and Bunnie on the sofa, watching the holographic screen. They both turned to look at him, faces falling as they caught sight of them.

"Oh, mah god!" exclaimed Bunnie in horror.

"Sacre bleu!" shouted Antoine in surprise.

"What is it?" asked Sally confusedly as she came out of the kitchen. She caught sight of Sonic and her face immediately changed to an expression of horror. "Oh, my god, Sonic! What happened?" She rushed over to Sonic and started inspecting the bruises and cuts on his face. They weren't as bad as they had been in Station Square. Accelerated healing helped him a lot in situations like this. She looked behind him at Amadeus, who was in the lounge chair by the door, arms crossed tightly, head leaned on the armrest, face expressionless. "General, what happened? Where's Tails?" She looked at Sonic expectantly. When he gave no answer but a sad gaze, she put her hand over her mouth to stifle a horrified gasp. "Sonic, what happened to Tails?"

"I- I'll explain later, Sa- Sal," replied Sonic quietly. He turned to Amadeus. "General, we need to talk." He gestured for Amadeus to follow him. Amadeus got up slowly and followed Sonic to his room. Sonic closed and locked the bedroom door behind him and turned to Amadeus, who was sitting on the bed.

"Sonic?" he whispered quietly, sadly. "What am I gonna do? He's my son. What do I do?"

"You do nothing," said Sonic firmly, but quietly. "You leave it alone.

"How do I do nothing?" asked a frantic Amadeus. "My son just joined the ranks of a psychopath-psychic gang-"

"No, he didn't," said Sonic, still firm, but quiet. "He's there as an undercover agent. He's still on our side, he told me himself."

"An undercover agent?" asked Amadeus with mock amusement. "Wow, I thought I was taking this bad. But no, this drove you over the edge, didn't it? Sonic, that's insane. Look what he did to you. What he told us. I've at least accepted the fact that my son went insane. You need to do the same, Sonic."

"This," replied Sonic as he pointed to the bruises on his face. "This is what I let him do to me to sell the deception. He's still on our side. Do you honestly think that I would let anybody that close to me betray me like that and then let them walk away with their appendages intact? Tails had a couple scratches on him while I got this. No way that happens unless I let it."

"How do you know he wasn't lying?" asked Amadeus.

"How do I know he was?" asked Sonic in return. "I know Tails. There's no way he was lying to me."

"So, what if he isn't lying?" asked Amadeus. "What do I do? What do I tell Rosemary?"

"Not the truth," said Sonic. "Tell her whatever Shadow's going to tell the news reporters. The less people that know, the better. The only other person I'm telling is the king. After that, it's all up to Tails."

"So, I'm supposed to sit back and let my own, seventeen-year-old son run around with a psychopath?" asked Amadeus disbelievingly.

"Yes," said Sonic firmly. "Because if you don't, you could get him in a lot of trouble. It's time for Tails to run solo. We need to let him." Amadeus sat on the bed, silently thinking.

"Fine," he groaned reluctantly. "I need to call Rosemary and tell her that I'm coming home."

"You're not gonna tell her what happened?" asked Sonic.

"I think that's something I need to do in person," said Amadeus softly. He got up and walked out of the room, Sonic following closely behind him. He walked into the living room and found Bunnie and Antoine still on the couch, whispering quietly. Sally was sitting in the chair by the door, quietly staring at Sonic, carefully scrutinizing him. She got up and walked over to him, hugging him gently as he walked over to the love seat to his left.

"Sal, the General needs to use the phone," said Sonic quietly.

"It's in the kitchen, General Prower," said Sally quietly. She sat down with Sonic as Amadeus walked into the kitchen silently. "Sonic, what happened?"

"Tails," said Sonic quietly, looking down at his shoes. "Tails betrayed us." Everyone but Sonic gasped quietly out of horror. "He beat me up. He's- He's not coming back."

"Sugah hog, that sweet, little, two-tailed fox did that to you?" Bunnie asked in horror.

"No, he didn't do this to me," said Sonic sadly. "He did a lot worse. I heal a _lot_ faster than normal people. I can actually see out of both eyes now."

"So, when he shot me, he wasn't-" started Antoine nervously.

"He wasn't under Dragon's control, Antoine," finished Sonic defeatedly.

"So, what happens to him now?" asked Sally quietly.

"Shadow goes after him," said Sonic. "He hunts for him until he's either captured or dead."

"Shadow wouldn't really kill him, would he?" asked Sally worriedly.

"He's a traitor, Sally," said Sonic quietly, but firmly. "Shadow may not want to do it, but it's his job. He's dangerous, Sal. I don't even think Shadow could kill him. He's too good. Shadow'd need a huge army to take down Tails. Look what he did to me."

"Well, let's hope that it doesn't have to come to that," said Sally quietly. "Okay, you need your sleep, Sonic. You're exhausted, injured, and probably a little psychologically unstable right now. Go to bed."

"No," said Sonic as he got up. "I have something to do first."

"What?" asked Sally.

"You know what today is," said Sonic as he headed for the door. He walked out before Sally could give an answer.

* * *

><p>Tails sat on his new bed and felt the mattress under the sheets. It was huge. And comfortable. He looked around the room he was in. The new room that he would be staying in while he was hiding from Shadow. As far as hiding places went, Tails knew that this place was probably one of the most luxurious safe houses one could get. Dragon had rented out a penthouse apartment in downtown Station Square. There were four bedrooms, a huge kitchen, and an even huger living room, along with a large terrace with a jacuzzi.<p>

His room had a private bathroom with a steam shower that had water jets in the walls and his own jacuzzi tub. In the bedroom was a large, circular sofa that circumnavigated the inside of a circular depression in the floor. In the middle of the depression was a cylindrical cooler that rose out of the floor if you tap it with your foot. Tails decided he would buy goodies for it later. There was also a nice looking holo-generator hanging on the wall opposite the wall the bed was placed against. In the same wall were several floor-to-ceiling windows that were equally spaced from each other across the room, like large, vertical stripes of the sky outside.

Tails marveled at the luxurious room he had, not knowing how Dragon had gotten it or if it would be sufficient enough to hide from the planet in, but, for the moment, he didn't care. For the moment, all he wanted to do was go sit in the jacuzzi tub and relax from the beating he had received from Sonic.

He discarded his shoes and socks and looked at the clock. Seven in the morning. He walked into the bathroom, closing and locking the bedroom door with a wave of his hand, then doing the same with the bathroom door, and twisted the knobs by the bath tap and waited for the tub to fill up. He looked at himself in the floor to ceiling mirror and examined himself. He still had the cut in his back from the other night, along with a couple more cuts on his back, chest, legs, and arms. The cuts had stopped bleeding, but his fur was caked in blood. It was going to take a lot of fur-wash and painful scrubbing to get clean again. He felt the end of the ear that had a chunk taken out of it when he had been able to just barely dodge a very fast spin dash from Sonic. Unfortunately, his ear didn't quite dodge it as well.

After the tub was filled, Tails climbed in and eased himself into the hot water. The cuts on his body stung slightly as they were submerged, but Tails got used to it after a few seconds. He laid his head back against the back of the tub and closed his eyes, letting his entire body relax in the hot water bath.

* * *

><p>Sonic stood in the cemetery, gazing sadly at the headstone in front of him. A single tear ran down his bruised face from his less damaged eye and he sniffed quietly. He bent down and laid the bouquet of flowers he had bought in front of the headstone. He sat back cross-legged in front of it and leaned back on his arms, muscles aching with every move he made. He read the inscription on the headstone.<p>

"Knuckles the Echidna," it read. "A beloved friend and a great hero, killed for the heroic deeds he performed for the citizens of Mobius. Godspeed, Knuckles." Sonic had written the inscription himself at the morgue three years ago. That was one of the worst days of his life. It had been THE worst, but now the emotional rollercoaster that the day before today had been was giving it good competition.

"Knuckles, I really wish you were here right now," Sonic said to the headstone quietly. "I really need you here. I need your help. I have no idea what to do and you're the only one that I'd trust with the secret I'm keeping. I need to know what to do right now. I have no idea what I'm going to tell Elias to convince him that Tails is still on our side and I think that you would probably have a good idea about what to do about that." Sonic stared at the headstone and chuckled bitterly to himself. "Sometimes I see where I am in life and where everyone around me is and I think about where you would be if you were still here. And I have absolutely no idea what to think. Half of me thinks you'd still be guarding that emerald day-in and day-out, but another part thinks that Tails and I would have been able to drag you out of that shrine long enough to get you to do something else." He stopped again, as if waiting for a reply, but he knew one would never come. After a few minutes, Sonic stood up again and made to leave, but then stopped again to say one more thing. "I know Tails wants to be here with me right now, but his hands are a little tied at the moment, so I'm here for him." He stared at the headstone again, reading the inscription over and over. He looked at the date-stamp on the stone. It was three years ago, almost to the minute, that Knuckles had peen pronounced dead. He remembered getting the call at eight fifteen. It was eight ten right now. "I'm sorry, Knux, but I have to go right now." He turned from the headstone and walked away, not turning or looking back. "I've got an appointment with the king."

* * *

><p>Tails stood on the wet tile of the bathroom floor, soaked fur dripping water on it. He grabbed a towel and started drying off. It was eight thirty. It had taken him an hour and a half to get cleaned up. He had to scrub continuously to get the blood and dirt out of his fur, but he succeeded. He spent the next five minutes toweling off. After he was done, he heard a knock at the bathroom door. He walked to the door and opened up, hiding behind it, even though he didn't really have anything to hide. Lucy was on the other side of the door, holding up a plastic bag with a logo on it that Tails couldn't quite make out through the folds in the bag.<p>

"Hey, what's up?" asked Tails with a cocked eyebrow. "How'd you get into my room?"

"Please, Miles, you don't think I can pick a lock?" asked Lucy with a smug smile. "These are some clothes for you. You're going to need to go out sometime and you're going to need a disguise. I tried to guess your size."

"So, what'd you get?" asked Tails as he took the bags and looked through them.

"A couple pairs of jeans, a couple T-shirts, a hoody, a zip-up, and a new pair of shoes," listed Lucy casually. "There are also some new socks in there."

"New shoes?" asked Tails uncomfortably. He liked the shoes he had. He had grown attached to them.

"Yeah," said Lucy. "Those shoes you wear are iconic. You'll be found in no time if you wear them in public."

"Oh, and I guess my second tail isn't as iconic?" argued Tails.

"Master said he had his own solution for that," said Lucy with a dismissive wave. "You want me to incinerate the shoes for you, or do you wanna get rid of them yourself?"

"Yeah, sure, thanks," said Tails, ears drooping.

"Okay, fine," said Lucy. She started for the door, but Tails stopped her.

"Hey, Lucy," said Tails somewhat timidly. She turned to him with an inquiring look. "Would you... uh... help me?"

"I am _not_ helping you get dressed," said Lucy with an amused chuckle of disbelief.

"No, I mean help me by making sure I look good," said Tails awkwardly. "This is the first time I've actually worn regular clothes. I'm not exactly fashionably adept."

"You want to model for me?" asked Lucy amusedly.

"Well, yeah, but phrasing it like that makes it sound weird," said Tails.

"Okay, fine," said Lucy as she plopped down on Tails' bed. Tails smiled and closed the door again. He came out a few minutes later, fully clothed. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a green T-shirt underneath a black, zip-up jacket, and his new sneakers. He looked completely different. Lucy thought that if she couldn't see the second tail behind him, she wouldn't have known it was him.

His new sneakers were like his old ones, except instead of half white, half red, they were base white with two, thin, black stripes running vertically down the front of the shoe.

"Wow," Lucy marveled at the change the clothes had made for the fox. He not only looked different, but he looked good. Not exceptionally handsome or cool, but not bad at all either. "Not bad." She walked around the fox, inspecting his new look carefully. "Good."

"Really?" said Tails happily.

"Yeah," said Lucy. "If it weren't for the second tail, I'd have never known it was you. You could walk into a crowd and no one would recognize you as 'Miles 'Tails' Prower: Mobian hero'."

"Except for this stupid ear," said Tails with an annoyed smiled. "Sonic, my dad, Nate, and Shadow would all recognize me. They'd remember a detail like that."

"Well, if I've guessed correctly, Master will solve that problem for you the same way he'll solve your tail problem," said Lucy.

"How's he gonna do that?" asked Tails.

"Oh, it's nothing," said Lucy dismissively. "Just a guess. That's it."

"Then let's hear it," invited Tails coolly.

"Nah," declined Lucy just as coolly. "I'll just wait and see if you prove me right or not."

"Well, how do I know if you really guessed right or if you just lied and said you did even though you got it wrong?" asked Tails smugly.

"Why would I lie like that?" asked Lucy, feigning innocence.

"To impress me," said Tails coolly.

"Why would I want to impress you?" scoffed Lucy.

"Because you like me," said Tails.

"Wow, conceited much?" said Lucy with an amused chuckle. "If I wanted to impress you, I wouldn't lie to do it. I don't need to. There are so many other things I could do to impress you."

"Like?" asked Tails with a smartly cocked eyebrow.

"Like this," said Lucy quickly. Tails barely knew what happened in the next two seconds. All he remembered was something hitting his stomach and a blur of color as everything was turned upside down. Then he hit his back on something and everything stopped suddenly. He was staring up at the ceiling. Lucy bent over him and smiled. "Impressed?"

"Beyond," gasped Tails with a wide smile as he tried to catch his breath. She helped him up, grabbing his hand and hoisting him up with a hard yank.

"I could also do this," said Lucy. She grabbed his hand and spun him around, twisting his arm behind back.

"That's right," said Tails painfully. "But then I'd do this-" Tails whipped his tails in between him and Lucy and pushed out with them, flinging Lucy away from him. She landed on the floor with a dull thud and looked up at him. He turned to her and smiled. "-to match."

"Now I'm impressed," said Lucy with a smile. She got up and walked over to him.

"Is there anything else you'd do to impress me?" asked Tails softly. "Maybe something non-related to violent combat?"

"Well, I could do this," said Lucy. She took his hand and lifted it up in front of him, flattening it with her palm and hovering her hand over it. "It's not exactly impressive, but..." Her hand started to shimmer slightly with electricity. Small, electrical lightning bolts arced between her fingers, jumping quickly from one finger to another, sustaining itself for a couple seconds before disappearing into the receiving finger. Then Tails jumped when one jumped to his hand, making the connection in a microsecond and sustaining itself. The bolt danced in between the two hands, twitching and jerking, making electrical connections with the nerves in Tails' hand. It didn't hurt, though. It felt strangely relaxing. Like she was massaging his hand with electricity, letting the lightning in her hand relax and unwind the muscles in his hand. He watched as the lightning grew fainter and fainter, thinner and thinner, before disappearing into Tails' hand completely, breaking the connection. "Did that impress you?"

"Yeah," Tails whispered softly. "It was... Marvelous. My hand feels great."

"Thanks," Lucy whispered back. They stared at each other for a while in silence. Neither knew what to do next. They just studied each other, looking into each others' eyes quietly. They moved closer together, both taking a baby step toward each other.

"You heard me when I said before that you were a big part of why I was staying here, right?" asked Tails quietly, not focusing on what he was saying.

"Yeah, I do," Lucy whispered back. He grabbed her hand and brought her closer to him, a single beam of sunlight shining through the floor-to-ceiling window next to them separating them, barely an inch of space to shine through.

"If only I could go back," said Tails softly. "I would take you with me. My friends would be your friends, too."

"What about the fact that I'm a former enemy?" challenged Lucy quietly.

"Well, they wouldn't care," said Tails softly. "It might take them a while to trust you, but I think they'd like you."

"That's good," said Lucy. The sunlight between them had disappeared as they inched closer together, closing the empty space between them. Tails put his hand on her cheek and gazed intently into her eyes. He was about to move in when she stopped him. She cleared her throat and stepped back awkwardly. "Well, it's too bad you can't go back." She looked away and leaned against the window.

"Well, I am eventually," said Tails somewhat sadly. "I need to go back for my job as an inside man." Tails was silent for a moment while he waited for a response from Lucy. When none came, he continued. "And I want you to go with me." She looked up at him, astonished.

"Really?" asked Lucy. "How would you sell that?"

"Well, sadly for you, you'd have to pretend to be my girlfriend," said Tails casually.

"Sadly for me?" asked Lucy.

"Well, who said I'd consider it a bad thing that you were my girlfriend," said Tails softly. She looked at the ground. Tails couldn't see it because of the fur, but he thought that the skin of her muzzle might be turning a bright red right now.

"Thanks, Miles," said Lucy quietly. She jerked around quickly and started jogging away. "But... Um... I have a... Thing... I need to do." She walked out the door, grabbing the old sneakers on her way out, and Tails closed it behind her with a wave of his hand. He leaned against the window and looked at his shoes, smiling to himself happily.

* * *

><p>Sonic walked through the large, wooden double doors of the royal court quickly. He saw King Elias sitting in the large, ornate throne at the end of the court. He walked down the court and bowed on his knee when he reached the end.<p>

"King Elias," said Sonic without facing up at him. "I wish to speak to you about my friend, Tails."

"Get up, Sonic, there's no need to be so formal," said Elias with a chuckle. "Now, I'm very intrigued by this request. I read Shadow the Hedgehog's report very carefully. It seems this fox gave you quite a beating, so I can't make heads or tails about what you could want to discuss. You don't seem the person to want to request extra forces and retribution be brought against someone who was a brother to you for most of your life, so you must be here to beg mercy for him on his behalf, but I think that you're not here for that either. So, what is it you would like to discuss about our poor, fallen fox?"

"You're right, your highness," said Sonic. "I don't wish mercy or retribution for my friend. I request full exoneration for the crimes he has been wrongfully blamed for." Elias almost choked on the beverage he was drinking when he heard this.

"What?" he gasped surprisedly. "You want me to pronounce him completely innocent of the crimes that we can prove he committed with hard evidence? Oh, you had better have a very good argument for this request."

"Yes, I do," said Sonic in a dignified voice. "Before I fought Tails this morning, he told me that he wanted to pose as an undercover agent in Dragon's ranks."

"And you believed him?" asked Elias with a cocked eyebrow. "Even after he gave you all that?" He gestured to the bruises and cuts on Sonic's face and body.

"All this," said Sonic, gesturing to his cuts and bruises. "This is what I let him do to me to help sell his cover."

"Oh, Sonic, you were played," said Elias sympathetically. "Tails lied to you."

"No, I know Tails and I know when he's lying," said Sonic determinedly.

"Really?" asked Elias challengingly. "Because I can't tell anything about Tails' credibility right now. He's either telling the truth to you, lying, or still under Dragon's control, so unless you can give me hard evidence to prove which one, I can't do anything about it."

"Just let him tell you," said Sonic. "If he comes back or gets caught, have him brought before you. Ask him about it. Hook him up to a polygraph or something. There's gotta be some way we can tell whether he's telling the truth or not."

"Okay, but that's all I can do," said Elias with a sigh. "I'll have him brought to me if he comes back or gets caught."

"What if he gets killed by the manhunts out there?" asked Sonic quietly.

"Well, I'll ask that Shadow try to bring him in alive," said Elias. "But if he fights back and gets killed in the scuffle, that's his fault for resisting." Sonic sighed heavily at hearing those words, but he knew it was the best he could get. He got up and walked out of the court without another word.

* * *

><p>"C'mon, Lucy, let's go!" shouted Tails as he headed for the front door of the apartment. He grabbed his black zip-up jacket off the coat hanger and put it on.<p>

"Just a minute, I need to get my shirt and shoes on!" shouted Lucy from her room. Her voice carried through the empty apartment.

"Well, hurry up!" said Tails happily. He crossed his arms and leaned up against the door. He waited a few minutes before she appeared in the hallway. She was wearing a pair of tight, light blue, denim capris, a tight green tank-top under a slim, white, leather jacket, and a pair of tan, high-heel-strap sandals. She was carrying a small, white, leather purse that matched her jacket under her arm. Her long, blonde hair was tied back in a smooth, silky ponytail.

"Okay, let's go," said Lucy with a smile.

"Cool," said Tails as he opened the door for her. She walked out and he followed closely after. "So, where do you wanna go for our first date?"

"Well, first, it's not a date," said Lucy pointedly. "It's a friendly dinner outing."

"Sugarcoat it how you like," said Tails smartly. "It's still a date."

"It's not a date unless the girl says so," said Lucy smugly.

"So, I'll just get you to say so before it's over," said Tails with a shrug and a smug smile.

"Second, I don't really know where I wanna go," said Lucy. "Where do you wanna go?"

"I'm feeling like Chinese," said Tails shortly.

"Sounds good," agreed Lucy.

"Oh, tail check," said Tails. She looked behind him.

"One tail," said Lucy in a sing-song voice. She looked at the top of his head at his ears. "Oh, but your ear is showing."

"Oh," said Tails quickly, stopping at a small mirror on the wall in the hallway. Sure enough, the ear had a chunk missing from it again. He concentrated hard and watched the missing chunk fill in again right in front of him. He smiled at his reflection and continued walking down the hallway, Lucy following him at his side. "That keeps happening. I have no problem keeping the second tail hidden, but the ear always pops out." During the week that Tails had been in the penthouse apartment, he had been training as much as he could with Dragon in telepathy. The first trick that Dragon had shown him was something he called a telepathic light filter. Basically, he could trick anyone looking at him, even himself, by broadcasting a telepathic signal to anyone who looked at him that told them what he wanted them to see. The trick itself was easy, but subconsciously focusing on it so he could direct his attention to other things while keeping the disguise in place was the difficult part. Tails had only been able to leave the apartment today with Lucy by being able to keep his second tail hidden for an entire day. It had taken a lot of work, but it was all worth it to be able to ask Lucy out for dinner, even if she didn't consider it a date.

"So I'll just keep a close eye on you and warn you whenever it happens," said Lucy. She approached the elevator, pressed the button for it and the elevator opened up. That was another perk of having the penthouse. Private elevator. They walked in and pressed the button for the ground floor. The doors closed and the elevator started descending. In about a minute, they exited the elevator, walking into the lobby of the ground floor. They walked out the front door of the apartment building and disappeared into the throngs of people outside. Ten minutes later, Tails was sitting down across the table from her, cardboard food box and chopsticks in hand, taking a bite of noodles as he sat down.

"So, what's your favorite color?" asked Tails casually.

"Random," remarked Lucy.

"Random's not a color," said Tails playfully.

"Random question," explained Lucy with a breathy chuckle.

"Sorry, just trying to make conversation," said Tails. "You said this was a 'friendly dinner outing'. I'm trying to be friendly."

"Green," said Lucy with a smile as she took a bite of chicken. "You?"

"Blue," said Tails with a shrug.

"Okay, so what's a hobby of yours?" asked Lucy.

"I'm a decent mechanic," said Tails. "I like building things. You?"

"I dunno," said Lucy with an indifferent shrug. "Living with Master doesn't give much time for hobbies. And I didn't really have anything before that. I was always just doing whatever. I honestly didn't care to do anything until Master found me two and a half years ago."

"Ah, well, I'm sure you would like something if you found the time," said Tails reassuringly. "You said you could pick locks."

"That's not a hobby," said Lucy with a small chuckle. "That's something the master taught me so I could break into food stores or food trucks or whatever I needed."

"So, wait, if you had to go around stealing from him, how does he have this much cash now?" asked Tails with a cocked eyebrow. "Where's he getting cash from? How can we afford to live in that penthouse?"

"He probably telepathically forced the landlord to let him for free," said Lucy with a shrug. "He probably does the same thing for food. I haven't had to go out for food in a while."

"That makes sense," said Tails, shrugging and taking a sip of his soft drink. Then he heard a familiar sound that almost stopped his heart. It was a loud, zipping noise, like something was tearing through the air at super speeds. "Oh, damn."

"What?" asked Lucy concernedly.

"Sonic's coming," said Tails quietly. He jerked up in his chair as he heard the noise coming closer. He had a couple seconds. "Okay, I think I can shade your fur darker and change your hair color, but it may give away the ear."

"Do it," said Lucy. "How did he find you?"

"He didn't," said Tails as he closed his eyes and concentrated on changing Lucy's fur and hair. "He comes here every Saturday night for food for him and Sally. It's like this weekly ritual they have. I totally forgot tonight was Saturday. He's gonna be here any second." Tails opened his eyes and saw Lucy in front of him, but she didn't look like Lucy. Her fur was now the same shade of brown as his father's and her hair was now auburn red.

"Well, just act casual," whispered Lucy quietly. She looked at her hands and saw her changed fur. "Wow, this is nice, Miles." She pulled her ponytail in front of her face. "Red? Really?"

"What's wrong with red?" asked Tails.

"Nothing, I'd just have chosen brown instead," said Lucy.

"Well, I was more focused on just changing your hair," said Tails. "Be glad it wasn't blue."

"Oh, your ear's back," said Lucy as she took a bite of noodles.

"Yeah, I know," said Tails. "Now hush, he's walking in."

"What about your fur?" asked Lucy quietly.

"I can only do so much," said Tails in a hushed tone. "All I have to do is show that I only have one tail and he'll forget about it. You don't have that luxury."

"Right, okay," said Lucy. She turned around quickly to look at Sonic. Then she turned back to Tails. "He's coming over here."

"Why does he look so angry?" whispered Tails confusedly. "Lucy, just play along as best as you can."

"Gotcha," Lucy whispered back, going back to her chicken.

* * *

><p>Sonic walked into the restaurant and went directly for the counter. He told the cashier who he was and she brought him his order in a plastic bag. He took it and thanked her, giving her some money. He turned around to leave when he caught something in the corner of his eye. It was the golden-orange fur that had caught his eye. Then he looked again and saw the bright, young, blue eyes and the gashed ear. He put his bags down on an empty table and walked over to the fox at the other end of the restaurant, anger boiling in his blood. He grabbed the fox by the new shirt he was wearing and held his head to the table quietly, attracting no attention at all. He did it all without thinking for a minute, letting his emotions run everything.<p>

"You bastard," he growled into the fox's ear.

"Hey!" said the female fox on the other side of the table. "Get off of him!"

"You think you can go and beat me to a bloody pulp for your own 'cover' and then go out on dates in plain sight?" asked Sonic angrily. "I have been dealing with crap all week for you, the least you could do for me is try to not get caught in the first week."

"Hey, I don't know what you're talking about," said the fox, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Nice try, Tails," said Sonic angrily. He lifted the fox off the table and pinned him into his chair. "You can't fool me that easily."

"Oh, hey, you're Sonic the hedgehog, right?" asked the fox. "I am a huge fan of your friend Tails. Is he here with you? I would love to meet him." Sonic was astonished. He looked exactly like Tails, he even had Tails' voice, but there was something with this fox that didn't quite match up to Tails.

"How many tails do you have?" asked Sonic quickly.

"One," said the fox as he pulled his one tail out from behind him. Sonic sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry, Tails isn't here right now," said Sonic sadly. "And I'm sorry about the whole head-smashing thing there."

"It's okay," said the fox dismissively. "Where is Tails, then?"

"Don't you watch the news or something?" asked Sonic with a cocked eyebrow.

"Nope," said the fox with a shrug.

"Well, I don't really wanna talk about it," said Sonic as he started walking away, grabbing his bags as he walked out the door.

* * *

><p>Tails heard the loud zipping sound of Sonic running away and sighed in relief as he let go of Lucy's disguise and her fur and hair turned back to normal.<p>

"Wow, that was close," said Tails relievedly. "I almost slipped. I could feel it. I didn't expect him to be angry."

"Well, at least you didn't," said Lucy with a smile. "And, I don't know, I kinda liked my fur like that. Could you teach me that trick?"

"I could try," said Tails.

"That'd be nice," said Lucy. "I don't wanna go through the trouble of actually dyeing my fur. It'd be so much easier to be able to change it at will like that."

"It's actually kind of cool, yeah," said Tails. "But I can't change major things, like height or weight or physique."

"Then how'd you hide the tail?" asked Lucy.

"I just bunch my tails together," explained Tails. "Then I use my telepathy to make that crappy illusion a better illusion."

"Oh," said Lucy.

"Yeah, it gets a little uncomfortable sometimes, but it's worth it," said Tails with a shrug.

"Mmm," said Lucy understandingly as she took a sip of her drink. "So, what else do you wanna do?"

"I'm open to ideas," said Tails with a smile.

"As am I," said Lucy, smiling back. They were silent for a few seconds before Tails spoke up.

"Okay, how about this for a plan?" said Tails. "We finish the food, walk out the door, and do whatever we want for the rest of the night." Lucy smiled as she thought it over for a second.

"Sounds like a plan," she said happily. And that's what they did. After finishing the food, they went and got smoothies on the other side of town, saw a movie together, visited an arcade, and ended the night on the rooftop of their apartment building, dangling their legs over the edge of the roof above the terrace and watching the full moon in the sky. Lucy leaned her head on Tails shoulder and sighed happily.

"That was one of the funnest nights I've had in a _long_ time," said Lucy quietly. "Probably the funnest of my life."

"Cool," said Tails quietly. "It was definitely one of the funnest of mine."

"So, what next?" asked Lucy curiously. "Wanna go sit in the jacuzzi? Jeremy and Spencer probably aren't back yet and Master's probably doing something else, so it'd just be us."

"Where'd Spencer and Jeremy go?" asked Tails.

"Who knows, who cares," said Lucy dismissively. "So, jacuzzi?"

"In a few minutes," said Tails with a quiet sigh. "I want this to last."

"What?" asked Lucy.

"This feeling of ignorant bliss," said Tails as he put his arm around her. "Tonight, I forgot everything. I forgot who we were and why we were here. I forgot that I'm on the run. I forgot about _everything_ that's happened in the past week. I felt like we were just two normal friends hanging out. And ignoring all that made me feel better and happier than I have for a long time."

"Yeah, me too," said Lucy quietly. "Y'know, I kinda wish you could go back. And take me with you. No Master, no coup, no anything. Just you and I doing whatever. It's not like we have school to worry about. We'd be completely free. We could do anything, you and me."

"Yeah," said Tails happily, looking down at the fox that was leaning on his shoulder. Their eyes met and they moved closer together. "That'd be nice. Just you and me." They went silent as they moved slowly closer to each other, lips meeting silently in the middle. Tails felt that feeling of solitude again. Like they were the only ones in the world. Like nothing else mattered, so long as he had Lucy in his arms. Tails didn't even know how long the kiss lasted. Seconds felt like hours and minutes felt like days. It was like time was stopped around them. Finally, they broke the connection. They looked at each other and smiled ecstatically.

"So," said Lucy, turning to look at the moon again, still smiling. "Um... Jacuzzi?"

"Uh... Ye- yeah," stammered Tails happily. She got up and prepared to jump down onto the terrace, but Tails stopped her. "Wait, let me." He gently put his arms around her and choppered into the air with his tails, floating softly down to the terrace, landing almost silently with Lucy hugged tightly to him. He let her go and she turned to face him.

"I'll go get my suit on," said Lucy quickly as she walked to the door.

"Hey, what about me?" asked Tails urgently. "I don't have a suit."

"Miles, I've seen you with only socks and shoes on," said Lucy dismissively. "You don't need a suit. You've got nothing to hide." Tails smiled somewhat awkwardly as she walked away. He quickly stripped the clothes off and slowly eased himself into the hot water, turning on the jacuzzi jets with a snap of the finger. He waited for a few minutes, leaning back in the warm pool of water, closing his eyes, and feeling the jet behind him massage his back. Tails heard the door open and close again and looked up, only to find Jeremy standing by the jacuzzi.

"Hey," he said casually. "It's almost eleven, what are you doing out here all alone?" Tails was about to answer when Jeremy continued. "Oh, did your date with Lucy go bad?"

"Our date was great," Jeremy jumped when he heard Lucy speaking from right behind him. "Now get inside and leave us alone, Jeremy."

"Hold on," said Jeremy as he turned around to face her, blocking her from Tails' view. "I can be out here all I want."

"Fine," said Lucy coolly, stepping out from behind him, bringing herself into Tails' view now. She was wearing a black and green striped two-piece bikini and her hair was tied back in a bun. She stepped into the jacuzzi and sat next to Tails, putting her arms around him and laying her head on his chest. "You'll go inside on your own. Playing 'third wheel' gets awkward quick. Especially when the other two wheels won't be talking very much."

"Okay, fine," said Jeremy defeatedly. "I'm gone. I'm tired anyway. I've gotta get some sleep." He walked back into the apartment and closed the door behind him. Tails sighed relaxingly and leaned back in the jacuzzi again, making sure he didn't dunk Lucy's head, as it was still lying on his chest. Then he chuckled softly to himself.

"What's so funny?" asked Lucy.

"You said 'date'," said Tails quietly with a charming smile.

"Okay, so it was a date," said Lucy submissively. "And it was the best first date anyone could have."

"When you say 'first date'-" said Tails slowly.

"I mean you're the first guy I've dated," said Lucy quietly. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing, it's just that you're the first girl I've dated," said Tails quietly. They were silent again, Tails watching the sky and Lucy absentmindedly running her fingers through the white fur on his chest. After what felt like twenty minutes, Lucy sat up and looked at Tails.

"Well, this was fun," she said quietly. "But, I'm getting tired. I'm heading to bed." Tails nodded silently and smiled. She lifted herself out of the jacuzzi and walked to the door. She had her hand on the handle when Tails stopped her.

"Lucy, wait," he said quickly. She turned to face him. "Does this whole thing mean we're... Um... Like boyfriend and girlfriend?" Lucy smiled and looked down as she thought it over for a second. She looked back at Tails and chuckled softly.

"I guess it does, doesn't it?" she said happily. "Yeah, it does." They both smiled at each other silently as she went inside. Tails laughed to himself as he the thought itself fully hit him. He had a girlfriend.

* * *

><p>Sonic sat down at his kitchen table with a sigh. He took a sip of water from the cup in his hand and looked at the clock. Four in the morning and he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. He got up slowly and looked through the medicine cabinet by the refrigerator. He took an aspirin out of a bottle and swallowed it with a swig of water. His head felt like someone had tried to bash his skull in with a rubber mallet. The stress that Tails' little undercover job was causing him was too much for him to handle anymore. He was actually beginning to wonder of Elias had been right about Tails playing him.<p>

It had been an entire month since Tails went undercover and Sonic hadn't heard from him since their 'fight'. And through the whole month, nothing had cooled down from when he had first left. The press had been camped out on his building's front step since day one, Amadeus was _still_ giving him grief about letting his son do something like this without his consent, and every day, Sonic was worried out of his mind that he would find Tails' corpse on the front step of his apartment. Sonic only found solace in the fact that he felt he could assume that Tails was going through the same level of hell he was under Dragon's imprisonment.

Sonic sighed heavily as he got up from the table. He emptied the water into the sink and headed for the bathroom. He was closing the bathroom door behind him when he heard the front door of the apartment open and close, followed by indistinct whispering coming from the living room. Sonic cracked the bathroom door and looked out into the living room. He saw two figures walking around the room. He couldn't tell who they were in the darkness and he couldn't make out what they were saying. He silently crept out of the bathroom and stood in the doorway of the hallway. He could hear what they were saying now.

"Should we wake him up?" asked a voice. It was a female voice.

"Nah, let's just take a quick nap out here on the couch," whispered a voice. It was male and Sonic thought it sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it with only a whisper. "Tomorrow morning, I'll wake him up and explain everything."

"Okay," whispered the female voice.

"Now, I'll go get a blanket," said the male voice quietly. "But be quiet, he's a very light sleeper."

"Who's a light sleeper?" Sonic asked from the hallway. He flipped the switch by the doorway he was in and saw something he didn't expect at all. Tails was standing in the middle of the room, wearing a white hoody, jeans, and new shoes, looking at Sonic like a deer caught in headlights. Standing beside him was the female fox that had been at the failed rescue mission. She was wearing a tight, white leather jacket that was zipped up to her neck, tight blue jeans, and a pair of green sneakers. Her hair was curled and tied back in a short ponytail.

"Hi," said Tails quickly with a smile. Then he looked at the fox and smiled wider. "See? Light sleeper."

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, how'd you all like it? I kind of liked writing the whole first-date thing with Lucy and Tails, but from now on, I'll try to keep the romance stuff to a minimum. And Tails is back with Sonic! And he brought Lucy with. But is he really back, or is he still working for Dragon? Can he prove his innocence and his loyalty to the kingdom? Find out soon, but until then, you know the drill, read, review, favorite, tell friends, alert, and always give your girlfriendwife a chimpanzee for her twenty-fifth birthday. Later!  
><strong>


	8. Freedom Fighter

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, finally, it's here. The next chapter. Sorry it took so long. This chapter was very hard to write. I was seriously blocked for a lot of it, but I was hit by inspiration and I promise that the next chapter will be better and that there will be a really good twist in it. Possibly two. And maybe a cliffhanger. but, for now, read and enjoy.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>"Tails!" gasped Sonic quietly, astonishment etched in his face. "What are you doing here?"<p>

"My cover was blown," explained Tails calmly. "I had to get outta there. Fast. Oh-" He reached into his pocket and pulled a small flash drive out. "-I did bring a present that should not only prove my innocence, in case you had trouble with that, but I also have some of Dragon's secrets to sweeten the deal if Shadow's still doubtful." Tails smiled smugly and put the flash drive back in his pocket.

"Okay, whatever," said Sonic quietly as he put his hand on his head and sighed in an overwhelmed way. "Just be quiet. Sal's still sleeping."

"Right, sorry," said Tails quietly.

"Who's she?" asked Sonic, pointing to Lucy as he sat down in the love seat. Tails and Lucy sat down on the sofa.

"Oh, right," said Tails. "You guys weren't really introduced. Well, um... Sonic, this is Lucy, and she's my girlfriend." Tails smiled happily and put his arm around her shoulders, leaning back on the sofa, hugging her tightly. She smiled at Sonic as his eyes widened and his face slowly began to convey the slight shock the announcement had caused him.

"Girlfriend," said Sonic slowly. "You have a girlfriend. Wow. Okay, you owe me an explanation, Tails."

"Right now?" moaned Tails. "I just ran from Station Square to Mobotropolis in like two minutes. Now, normally I wouldn't complain, but I did it while running for my life and carrying someone who's the same size as me, so the added weight plus the adrenaline rush really wiped me out. And I haven't slept in almost twenty four hours. Can't it wait 'til tomorrow?"

"Well, the added weight shouldn't have been too much for you," said Lucy quietly.

"Well, no, but a living Mobian isn't exactly the lightest thing in the world to carry while running," said Tails. Lucy shrugged.

"No, it can't wait, Tails," said Sonic firmly. "I have been waiting a month for you to contact me; I am not waiting another second. Start explaining."

"I did contact you," said Tails. "Well, sort of. You kinda interrupted us on our first date." Tails smiled widely.

"Whe-?" Sonic stopped. His eyes widened in realization. "That _was_ you."

"Yep," said Tails happily. He got up and showed his twin tails to Sonic. Then he bunched them together and they seemed to mesh together before Sonic's eyes, turning into one tail. "Oh, hey, where's Tails? I'm such a big fan." Tails smiled smartly and sat down again, tails separating as he sat down.

"Start the explanation with that," said Sonic, still somewhat shocked.

"Okay, fine," said Tails with a long yawn. "But can we get a blanket or something?"

"Yeah," said Sonic. He picked a blanket off the love seat and threw it to him. He leaned back against the armrest and Lucy leaned on him. He threw the blanket over the both of them and sat back.

"Okay, firstly, that tail thing was telepathy," said Tails. "I broadcast a telepathic signal that shows you what I want you to see. Like a single tail. I can also make you believe anything I tell you, I can read your mind, and I can knock you out by overloading your brain."

"Okay, now start at the beginning," said Sonic. "First, I'd like to know if everything that you did was you or Dragon controlling you."

"Okay, me shooting you, me shooting Antoine, and the note on the bandage was all Dragon," explained Tails. "The note in Antoine's wallet was me. Oh, and the phone call with you and me assaulting Shadow was Dragon also."

"Okay, was the note in the wallet from you actually a rescue call, or just you setting up your cover?" asked Sonic.

"Originally, it was a rescue call," said Tails. "But when I thought of making it an undercover job, I decided to use the note as a way in, a way to prove that I had turned sides."

"And why did you decide to make it an undercover job?" asked Sonic.

"Well, I thought it'd be a good way to take down Dragon and learn to hone my newfound psychic abilities at the same time," explained Tails. "And I'm so glad I did. I have learned way more than I had before. I'm great with telepathy, I'm a good telekinetic fighter now, and Lucy's teaching me electrokinesis."

"Yeah, and I'm taking all the heat, Tails," said Sonic quietly. "The press have been camping out on my front step since day one, your father is still angry at me for letting you do this, and he has every right to be, and I've been worried sick about you since the first minute. Would it have killed you to throw me a bone every once in a while?"

"Sorry, I just sorta forgot," said Tails apologetically. "I kinda liked it there. I had a girlfriend who's insanely awesome-" he gestured to Lucy, who was asleep, lying on his chest. "-I had friends who weren't too busy for me, we were put up in one of the best penthouses in the city, I was learning a new skill that I loved, honestly, if Dragon weren't a psychotic murderer, I'd have actually stayed and never even done anything after being captured by him."

"Yeah, well, it's nice to know that you were having a nice time not even remembering me while I was left here to pick up the pieces for you," said Sonic angrily.

"I'm sorry that you had to do that, Sonic," said Tails defensively. "But I guess you know how I felt for the last three years. I went whole months without hearing anything from anyone. I was alone. You guys were all the friends I had. I had no one else. Then I found some friends who were the same age as me. And they're psychics. I was happier there than I had been in a long time."

"Well, fine," growled Sonic angrily as he got up from the love seat. "You're welcome to stay on the couch, but you might wanna go home in the morning. Your parents are going insane." He turned and walked down the hallway, turning the lights out on his way. Tails leaned his head back on the armrest and put his hand on Lucy's head, running it gently through her hair. He sighed and closed his eyes as he fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Sally woke up later that morning feeling great. She looked at the clock on her nightstand. Eight o'clock. She yawned and rolled over and put her arm around her prickly, blue partner.<p>

"Good morning, sleepy head," she whispered softly in his ear. Sonic groaned as he woke up. He rolled onto his back and put his arms around her.

"Good morning," he whispered back with a smile.

"Did you sleep well last night?" asked Sally.

"No," said Sonic, turning his head away, smile turning to a frown. "I was awake at four and I decided to get up and get a glass of water, and guess who came to visit."

"Who?" she gave him a confused look.

"Tails," said Sonic with a sigh.

"Seriously?" she asked quickly. "Why'd he come here?"

"It's a bit of a long story that you should have him tell you," said Sonic. "It was his idea anyway."

"What was his idea?" asked Sally.

"Go ask him," Sonic told her. "He's probably still asleep on the couch."

"He is?" asked Sally quickly. She got off the bed quickly, grabbing her blue vest on her way out of the room. She ran out into the living, finding, sure enough, Tails, asleep on the couch, Lucy lying asleep on his chest. She walked over to him and shook him awake gently. "Tails. Tails! Wake up."

"Huh?" Tails opened his eyes And looked up tiredly. "What?"

"Tails, it's me, it's Sally," Sally told him quietly. Tails looked at her and a smile spread across his face.

"Sally!" he exclaimed quietly. She gave him a quick hug.

"Tails, what are you doing here?" asked Sally quickly. "You're a wanted man, what possessed you to come here?"

"Oh, that's a long story, Sally," Tails said, sitting up carefully, so as not to wake up Lucy. "And I'll tell you it, but you might want to get something to eat for breakfast. It could take a little while."

"Okay, you want anything?" asked Sally as she headed to the kitchen.

"No, I'm good right now, thanks," said Tails. Sally went into the kitchen and Tails gently woke Lucy up. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Good morning," he replied. "You sleep well?"

"I slept great," said Lucy happily. "So, what should we do now?"

"Explain everything," said Sally, coming out of the kitchen and sitting down on the love seat, bagel in hand. "Starting with who she is."

"I'm Lucy," Lucy told her. "And I'm his girlfriend. Who are you?"

"That's Sally," Tails introduced. "She's Sonic's wife."

"Girlfriend?" asked Sally with a small smile. "You have a girlfriend now?"

"Yeah," said Tails.

"Wow," said Sally quietly. "Okay, start from the beginning now."

"Okay," said Tails. He told her the entire story, starting with the morning he woke up with a gun under his pillow and ending with the fight he and Sonic had earlier that morning. Sally paid close attention to everything he was saying, eating the bagel while she listened.

"And then he told me that I should go and see my parents," he finished. "He said they were going insane."

"Yeah, they are," said Sally. "Your mother didn't take it well at all."

"Well, I should probably get over there and straighten this all out," said Tails. "And make sure they're safe. Dragon might target them."

"Okay, so what does Dragon want out of all this?" asked Sally. "What's his plan?"

"He's planning a coup, Sally," said Tails. "He wants to overthrow the Kingdom of Acorn and begin an empire of psychics."

"How does he plan to do that with a grand total of four psychics?" asked Sally with a cocked eyebrow.

"I have no idea, but we can safely assume it's going to work unless we stop it," said Tails.

"Okay, well, at least you're safe and home again," said Sally, getting up and hugging him tightly. "Why don't you stick around for breakfast? You and Sonic need to make nice here so that this doesn't escalate any more than it needs to."

"Sure, why not?" said Tails with a shrug. "You want anything for breakfast, Lucy?"

"Sure, how 'bout cereal?" asked Lucy as Tails got up and headed for the kitchen.

"Sounds good, c'mon," said Tails as he entered the kitchen. "That okay, Sally?"

"Sure, go ahead," invited Sally kindly as she followed the two into the kitchen. Lucy sat down at the table while Tails poured two bowls of cereal for them both. Sally sat down next to Lucy.

"Here ya go," said Tails as he sat down on Lucy's other side and put a bowl in front of her. Tails took a bite. "So, have I missed anything that's not related to the whole episode I created here?"

"Not really," said Sally with a shrug. "Sonic hasn't really been himself lately. Though I can't really figure out why now, since I thought it was because you betrayed him and tried to outright kill him, but now I find out he was in on this with you."

"Don't blame for that, Sally," Tails said. "I told him that he couldn't tell anyone but my father and the king."

"I know, but I'm still kinda mad he didn't tell me anything anyway," grumbled Sally.

"He probably figured that telling someone might get me killed or something," said Tails.

"Okay, fine," said Sally with a smile. Then they all looked up when they heard a door down the hallway slam shut. They waited in silence for Sonic to walk into the kitchen. They didn't have to wait long. Sonic walked into the kitchen a couple seconds later. He walked over to the table, footsteps sounding as loud as gunshots in the dead silence. Tails could have cut through the tension in the room like a loaf of bread. Sonic sat down across from Tails and looked him in the eye with an expressionless face. Then, his expression softened and he sighed softly.

"Tails, I'm sorry about earlier," he said quietly. "I guess I'm just a little miffed about-"

"It's okay, Sonic," Tails cut him off. "I guess I could have passed along something to you at some point."

"So, we're good?" asked Sonic with a smile.

"Yeah," said Tails, smiling back as he took a bite of cereal.

"Good," said Sonic. "So, you have a girlfriend." He chuckled softly and looked around him to see Lucy. "And I don't know a thing about her, except her name."

"Well, let's see," started Tails. "She's an electrokinetic, she's a great fighter, she's sorta feisty, and she's the same age as me. Now you know everything I know."

"Electrokinetic?" asked Sonic shortly.

"Here, shake my hand," cut in Lucy as she reached out to Sonic. Sonic reached out and took her hand. There was a small crackle and Sonic jerked in his chair and withdrew his hand quickly.

"Ouch!" he said sharply through gritted teeth. "Jeez! Okay, so you know her first name, her general personality, her age, and her psychic ability." Sonic gave Tails a skeptical look. "Couldn't you just read her mind to figure out more?"

"Not anymore," said Tails with a shrug. "We've been teaching each other. I'm teaching her telepathy and she's teaching me electrokinesis. She knows how to block me out."

"So, you're both telepathic," said Sonic with a cocked eyebrow. "Does that mean you can, like, communicate with each other in your heads?"

"Yeah," said Tails.

"Okay, well, I'm glad you've got her," said Sonic. "And I'm looking forward to getting to know her."

"She wants to become a Freedom Fighter," said Tails with a smile.

"Well, you said she's a great fighter, but we'll need to test her," said Sonic, smiling back.

"Okay," said Lucy casually. "And I'll pass."

"I'm sure you will," said Sonic. "But first, Tails has an appointment with his parents and King Elias."

"That's right, I have a present for him," he held up the flash drive from earlier and smiled. "I've got proof of my innocence and I've got some other back-up hiding spots of Dragon's for Elias to investigate."

"That should do it," said Sonic. "So, why don't you go take care of things on that end and I'll take your girlfriend and make sure she's Freedom Fighter material."

"You okay with that, Luce?" Tails asked her.

"Oh, I'll knock his socks off, Miles," she said with a cocky smile.

"Oh, I like her, _Miles_," said Sonic playfully. "So, what's with the get-up?"

"Well, at first it was just to disguise myself," explained Tails as he showed them the outfit. He was wearing a light blue T-shirt and a pair of jeans. "But I kinda like the clothes, don't you?"

"Yeah, you pull 'em off," said Sonic coolly.

"Alright, well, I gotta go," said Tails with a sigh. He leaned over in his chair and gave Lucy a quick peck on the cheek. "Have fun with Sonic." He got up and walked out quickly.

"Don't worry, she will!" Sonic called after him.

* * *

><p>Tails pushed open the large, wooden double doors to the large Royal Court. He saw Elias sitting in the throne at the end of the court, waiting patiently for his arrival. Tails walked quickly to the end of the hallway, stopping in front of Elias and bending down on one knee.<p>

"Your majesty, I wish to speak to you about the crimes I have been blamed for," Tails spoke firmly with a level voice.

"Okay, Tails, let's hear it," said Elias with a sigh. "From what I heard from my sister, you have a very interesting story to tell."

"Yes, I do," said Tails. He recounted the story for Elias the same way he did for Sally, except for the fight he had had with Sonic, ending instead with his escape from Dragon's headquarters at the penthouse after being caught stealing secrets from Dragon.

"So, you mean to tell me that everything you've been blamed for," started Elias. "Jewelry theft, attempted murder, assault of a G.U.N. agent, and ultimately treason, was all either you being controlled by a psychopath or you trying to sell a cover story as one of his agents."

"That's exactly what I'm saying," said Tails with a smile.

"Were you planning on just coming in here and exonerating yourself with a story?" asked Elias.

"No," said Tails flatly with a shrug. "Hoping to? Yes. Planning to? No." He pulled out the flash drive and threw it to Elias.

"What's this?" asked Elias, holding up the flash drive.

"A flash drive with a video of me getting caught stealing Dragon's secrets," said Tails casually. "And a couple secrets that I stole."

"And you're trying to prove your innocence with some video proof that your loyalty lies with me and my kingdom," finished Elias.

"Well, firstly, my loyalties don't lie only with you," said Tails. "I'm loyal to Sonic, the Freedom Fighters, and the planet of Mobius and all its citizens. And secondly, that's not what I plan to use to prove my loyalty at all."

"Do explain, Mr. Prower," said Elias, folding his hands in front of him.

"Well, that video isn't really a video of me stealing secrets from Dragon," said Tails pointedly.

"What, it's a fake?" asked Elias with a cocked eyebrow.

"Well, yes, and no," said Tails slowly. "That video is a video of Dragon acting like he caught me and me acting like I was stealing secrets from him."

"So you and him set this up," said Elias.

"Yes," said Tails.

"So, how does that make me trust you?" asked Elias.

"Well, I could have walked in here, shown you the video and the secrets, and made you believe me based on that proof," said Tails. "But that's only if I'm working for Dragon."

"Which you're not," clarified Elias.

"No, but he thinks I am," said Tails. "He thinks I'm still loyal to him. He and I set this up to establish a cover here so I can work as his inside man."

"Okay, so let me just straighten this out here," said Elias. "You were kidnapped by Dragon so he could use you as a soldier and inside man here."

"Yes," said Tails.

"Then you lied to him and told him that you were working for him," said Elias. "But really you were working for me to take down Dragon. And now you're here pretending to be Dragon's inside man to help take him down."

"Yeah," said Tails. "Let me just end it by saying this: My loyalties never left you or the Freedom Fighters. Dragon tried to kill me and my friends. I want him dead or locked up."

"Okay, and what secrets are on the flash drive?" asked Elias.

"Some other hiding spots that Dragon kept as back-ups," explained Tails. "Though you probably won't find him in any of those places."

"Okay, Tails, I'm trusting you here," said Elias with a heavy sigh. "I'll be watching you closely."

"Okay," said Tails with a nod.

"Right, that just leaves a couple loose ends for you to tie up," said Elias. "First of which is this girlfriend of yours that Sally told me about."

"Lucy?" asked Tails with a cocked eyebrow.

"Well, I just wanna know how informed she is of your stand on this," explained Elias. "Is she loyal to us, like you, or is she loyal to Dragon?"

Right now, Dragon," said Tails. "But I think I can turn her."

"So, she thinks you're working for Dragon also?" asked Elias.

"Yeah, but I'm working on it," repeated Tails.

"Fine, I'll leave you to that," said Elias. "But that makes her your responsibility."

"Fine," agreed Tails with a shrug.

"And one more thing," said Elias slowly. "Your parents-"

"I'll take care of that myself," said Tails with a dismissive wave.

"Good," said Elias with a smile. Tails started to walk away, but Elias stopped him. "And, Tails?"

"Yes?" said Tails, turning to face Elias.

"Welcome back," said Elias happily.

"Good to be back," said Tails as he walked away, smiling.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to the Military Base of Mobotropolis!" announced Sonic warmly as he led Lucy through the gates, accompanied by Sally. "This is where we train new recruits of the Freedom Fighters."<p>

"Not really," said Sally plainly. "We haven't had a new recruit since before Robotnik went underground four years ago. The Freedom Fighters sorta disbanded after his last attack when Rotor was... Well, that was just a very dark day for us."

"Who's Rotor?" asked Lucy curiously.

"He was a part of the Freedom Fighters before they disbanded," said Sally sadly. "He was killed in Robotnik's last attack. Sacrificed himself to save everyone. He was a hero."

"Yeah," said Sonic sadly. Then he went back to a casual attitude. "But this is still the training grounds for new soldiers of the military, and Antoine told me about a new gadget they made that I have been wanting to try out since they started it up a couple weeks ago. Sadly, I didn't have anyone to use it with, as Tails wasn't here."

"What is it?" asked Lucy curiously.

"A virtual reality battle simulator," said Sonic coolly.

"Nice, how much can we use it?" asked Lucy curiously.

"You wanna fight Tails, don't you?" asked Sonic smugly.

"Totally," said Lucy with a breathy laugh.

"You can totally kick his ass, can't you?" asked Sonic.

"You know it!" laughed Lucy happily.

"What about me?" asked Sonic. "You think you can beat me?"

"That depends on how limited I am," said Lucy. "Can I get lethal here?"

"We try to discourage lethality here," said Sonic. "But no one's in danger here, get as rough as you want."

"Yeah, then I can totally beat you," said Lucy.

"Well, you may be a good fighter, but you'll have to catch me first," said Sonic smugly. "That's the hard part."

"Wow, I can't wait to fight Miles," said Lucy excitedly. "I have been holding back so much when we spar. How often can we use this thing?"

"Anytime, as long as you make sure with Antoine first," said Sonic.

"Ah," said Lucy. She followed him to the end of a small hallway, Sally behind her, where there was a door. Sonic opened it up and led them into a room with a large console and three bed-like pods inside. There was a dark brown fox sitting in the chair at the computer console.

"Ah, Sonic the Hedgehog," he greeted happily. "Pleasure to meet'cha." He reached out to Sonic to shake his hand and Sonic shook.

"Hey, there... Uh..." Sonic started slowly.

"Name's Virgil," said the fox. "And I understand you're training a new recruit today."

"Yep," said Sonic, stepping aside to show him Lucy.

"So who's she fighting?" asked Virgil.

"Me," said Sonic casually. He walked over to the beds and opened one up, inspecting the inside. "So, how does this work?"

"Well, as far as I understand it," started Virgil. "The pods are teleports that transport you to a digital, bubble zone inside the computer. They anchor your bodies inside the computer and send your consciousness the rest of the way and materialize you in a corporeal form."

"So, any damage we take in the simulation doesn't affect our bodies," said Lucy.

"Yes," said the fox. He pushed a couple of buttons on the console and the beds opened up and started glowing faintly on the inside. "Now just get into to those beds and wait." Lucy walked over to the bed in the middle and got in, laying down on the cushioned surface of the inside. The fox came over and pushed a couple buttons on the pod. "Sonic the Hedgehog for your first fight. Wow." He turned to Sonic. "Are you gonna go easy on her?"

"Oh, no, she wants to fight me," said Sonic with a smile. "She said she could beat me."

"Oh, well, I think this should be worth watching," said Virgil with a laugh. He walked over to the console and started typing on the keyboard. "Okay, keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times and if you want it to stop, too bad." He hit the "enter" button and the pods closed with Sonic and Lucy inside.

Lucy found that the inside of the pod was still glowing softly. Then the pod began to hum slightly and a bar of yellow light started moving underneath her, up and down the length of the pod, getting faster and faster with each length it made. Pretty soon the soft hum had grown to a deafening roar as the bar of light turned into one solid light under her. Finally, there was a loud screech and a blinding flash and Lucy closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, she was staring up at a high, metal ceiling. She sat up and looked around. She was in a large, empty room that looked like some sort of small stadium or gymnasium. She heard a grunt and saw Sonic getting up from the ground a couple yards away. Lucy got up and dusted herself off.

"Okay, rules are: last person standing wins," announced Virgil's voice from the air. "Go!" Immediately, Sonic took off like a bullet, leaving behind a cloud of dust.

"Damn, he is fast," Lucy thought aloud quietly. She heard him zipping around the large room, kicking up dust from the dirt floor everywhere. Pretty soon, Lucy couldn't see two feet in front of her and she could barely breathe with all the dust around her.

"Okay, Sonic, you can't keep running forever!" yelled Lucy while she coughed on the dust.

"Actually, Lucy, I think that's the one thing I can do!" echoed Sonic's voice from around the room.

"Okay, you asked for it!" yelled Lucy loudly. She whipped out her hand and a bolt of lightning shot out of it, embedding itself into the wall. She spun around in a three-sixty turn, spinning the beam of electricity throughout the entire room. The electricity disappeared and Lucy stopped in her place. The room was silent. Sonic wasn't running anymore. Lucy put her hands together and charged an electric pulse in her hands. She let it go and a dull hum echoed through the room and the dust cleared from the air, hovering around the walls and outskirts of the room. She saw Sonic lying on the ground a couple feet away, moaning as he rolled onto his back. "Told ya."

"Oh, wow, I didn't see that coming," said Sonic as he lifted himself off the ground and dusted himself off.

"They never do," said Lucy quietly as she walked over to him and aimed a high kick at him. To her surprise, he caught her kick an inch away from his face.

"Nice try," said Sonic with a cocky smirk. Then Lucy jumped up and twisted her other foot around, landing a hard blow on Sonic's face this time. She landed on the ground in a crouched position as Sonic was flung off of his feet by the force of the blow.

"How was that one, then?" asked Lucy as she stood up.

"Decent," said Sonic as he sat up in a crouched position. "But why don't we crank it up a notch?"

* * *

><p>Tails walked up the front walk of his house, watching the front door intently as he approached it, getting closer and closer. He came to the front door and turned the knob quietly. He pushed the door open and walked inside quietly, being greeted by nothing but silence. The living room was empty. No one was there. Tails walked into the kitchen and found it empty as well. Finally, he walked into the back room by the kitchen and found someone standing by the window in the back. It was his father.<p>

"I know you're there," said Amadeus quietly without turning to face Tails. "You know, it's rude to walk into someone's house uninvited. Usually, one knocks first." Tails stayed silent, speechless. He wondered if his father knew that it was him or not. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Well, I'd like to come back home, Dad," said Tails quietly. Amadeus whipped around to face him, shock etched into his face.

"Miles," gasped Amadeus in shock. He stared at his son, mouth agape.

"Hi, Dad," said Tails, walking to his father. "I don't know if Sonic told you, but I-" He was cut off as Amadeus grabbed him in a tight embrace.

"Oh, thank God," said Amadeus relievedly. "Yes, Sonic told me."

"He said you're giving him grief about letting me do it," said Tails as he was released from his father's tight embrace. "Don't be mad at him, I didn't give him much of a choice in the matter."

"I know, I just haven't been myself lately," said Amadeus quietly. "I have been scared out of my mind for you since the first minute I found out you were going undercover."

"It wasn't that bad, actually," admitted Tails. "Dragon put us all up at a luxurious penthouse apartment downtown. All we did was hang out and train. I've learned so much with my new powers. And there's one other thing I did there that you need to know about."

"What?" asked Amadeus with raised eyebrows.

"I've got a girlfriend now," said Tails with a wide smile.

"A girlfriend?" asked Amadeus with a shocked expression. "Wow, that's great. When do I get to meet her?"

"Well, you sorta already have," said Tails slowly as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "You remember that fox that you fought when you came to rescue me?"

"Oh," said Amadeus in realization.

"Yeah, her name's Lucy and I brought her back with me," said Tails happily.

"How serious are you two?" asked Amadeus curiously. "Hopefully not too serious, if you know what I mean."

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no," said Tails quickly with a nervous chuckle. "Nothing like that. But I did have my first kiss with her."

"So, you really like her, then," said Amadeus.

"Oh, she's great," said Tails as he sat down on the small sofa that was against the wall opposite the window. "She's fun, funny, feisty, a fighter, nice, down-to-Mobius, and she's just amazing."

"Well, how long have you two been together?" asked Amadeus, sitting down next to him.

"About three weeks," said Tails admittedly. "I know it's not that long, but we just sorta clicked."

"Yeah," said Amadeus. "So, what happened? Why are you back?"

"I went and blew my cover," said Tails with a bitter chuckle. "I feel like such an idiot, getting caught stealing secrets off a computer."

"What happened after that?" asked Amadeus.

"Well, Dragon caught me and set Spencer and Jeremy on me," explained Tails. "Those are two of his other apprentices. I went to go get Lucy and we escaped. We had to jump off the balcony together and chopper down to the ground. After that, I carried her to Sonic's apartment."

"When was this?" asked Amadeus.

"Earlier this morning," said Tails. "We took a quick nap there and then I went to see Elias, who has officially exonerated me."

"Well, that's good," said Amadeus with a relieved sigh.

"So, how have things been around here since I've been gone?" asked Tails.

"Not good," said Amadeus with another sigh, this one of exhaustion. "I had to take a temporary leave to stay home and take care of your mother."

"What's wrong with her?" asked Tails worriedly.

"She didn't take your 'betrayal' well at all," said Amadeus sadly. "It hit her the hardest. She just hasn't been well. She's just been sick. Slight fever, exhaustion, and occasional anxiety attacks. She's usually bedridden and she doesn't sleep well at all, and lately she's been slightly delusional."

"Where is she?" asked Tails quietly.

"Bed," said Amadeus. Tails stood up and walked through the kitchen and living room and down the hallway to his parents' bedroom. He opened the door and walked into a dark, silent room. He walked to the bed and stood by the side his mother was asleep on. He prodded her gently to wake her up.

"Mom?" said Tails quietly as she stirred. She opened her eyes and looked up at Tails with a blank expression.

"Miles?" she said quietly. "Miles, is that you?"

"Yeah, Mom, I'm here," said Tails quietly. Her eyes were dead when she woke up, but, as it slowly dawned on her that her son was actually standing in front of her, her eyes might as well as had stars in them. Her face lit up when she saw him and she sat up and embraced him tightly.

"Oh, thank God," she whispered into his shoulder. "People have been saying the most awful things about you lately. Even Sonic and your father. But I knew better. I never believed anything they said. They were saying that you were a traitor. I told them they were wrong. I knew you'd come back."

"I know, Mom, thank you," said Tails quietly. "I've straightened everything out now. I'm sorry for causing you so much distress. Dad told me that you haven't been well."

"Well, the good thing is that you're home now," said Rosemary quietly as she let him go and sat up against the headboard. "So, why don't you tell me what really happened?" So Tails recounted the story for the third time that day, starting with the first morning and ending with his meeting with Elias, leaving out the information that he was still pretending to work for Dragon.

"So, this entire month of work was for nothing," finished Tails with a bitter smile.

"Well, it's alright," said Rosemary kindly. "You're back, you're safe, and everything's as it should be. That's what matters."

"Yeah," said Tails softly. "Anyway, I've gotta go. I need to be somewhere and you need some sound sleep."

"When am I gonna get to meet this girlfriend of yours?" asked Rosemary.

"I'll bring her around here sometime tomorrow," said Tails as he turned the doorknob. He walked out and found his father sitting in the living room, drinking a cup of coffee.

"So, how'd it go?" asked Amadeus.

"She was really happy to see me," said Tails quietly. "So, you didn't try to convince her that I was a traitor."

"I didn't really want to help her break through the denial when I knew she was right," said Amadeus with a shrug. "You heading out?"

"Yeah," said Tails as he headed for the door. "I'll be back around tomorrow night with Lucy."

"Alright," said Amadeus quietly as Tails walked out the door. Tails closed the door behind him and walked down to the sidewalk in front of the house. He took a deep breath and looked up to the sky as he took off in flight, choppering into the air with his tails.

* * *

><p>Tails walked into Sonic's apartment and found Lucy sitting on the couch next to Sonic. They both looked up when he walked in and they both smiled.<p>

"So, what's the verdict?" asked Sonic.

"Exonerated," said Tails happily as he sat down on the other side of Lucy. "Elias exonerated me and my parents welcomed me home with open arms. All is right with the world."

"Except there's a homicidal maniac running around trying to hunt you down and conquer the Kingdom of Acorn," said Sonic pointedly.

"Okay, so it's like it was six years ago," said Tails with a shrug. "What's wrong with that?" Sonic smiled happily at him. "So, what did you guys do while I was gone?"

"We went and tried out this battle simulator at the military base," said Lucy happily. "Virtual reality fighting. I kicked his ass. Twice." Tails' face changed to an expression of amused shock.

"Okay, twice out of three," said Sonic.

"But she still beat you," laughed Tails. "Admit it."

"Okay, you have an awesome girlfriend who's fun, funny, and an excellent fighter," said Sonic. "Happy?"

"Insanely," he said happily as he hugged her.

"Ditto," said Lucy with a smile. "So, what else is there to do?"

"Why don't you and I go pick up dinner?" Tails asked her. "Pizza?"

"Sounds good," said Sonic happily. "But I can go pick it up."

"Nope," said Tails. "We're picking it up. I owe you at least one pizza retrieval for the crap I put you through."

"Alright, fine," said Sonic dismissively. "But that's where it stops. I don't want you bugging me to do all my dirty work because you feel like you 'owe' me."

"Don't worry," said Tails. He turned to Lucy. "You coming?"

"Yeah, let's go," she said happily as she stood up and followed him out the door.

* * *

><p>Tails walked out of the pizzeria holding a square, cardboard pizza box in his hands. Lucy was walking beside him as they both traveled down the sidewalk outside the shop. They were a couple blocks away from Sonic's building. Tails had decided that right now would be a good time to talk to Lucy about his true motives.<p>

"Hey, Lucy, um..." started Tails nervously. "There's... uh... something I wanted to talk about with you. About us."

"Sure, what is it, Miles?" she asked quietly.

"Well, you remember how you said on our first date that-" his voice trailed off as he heard something strange stir in the alley they were walking in front of. "Did you hear that?" They both stopped and looked down the alley, scrutinizing the dark shadow that concealed most of it from view.

"Hear what?" asked Lucy.

"It sounded like footsteps and whispering," said Tails quietly. He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind into the alley, searching telepathically for anything alive in the alley. He didn't have to search long before he found someone in the alley. He wasn't surprised that he found someone, but what did surprise him was what he found inside their mind. It was an image of who they are. He saw the familiar face of a brown furred wolf. "Oh, no."

"What is it?" asked Lucy telepathically, her voice echoing inside his head.

"Come here," Tails said inside her head as he walked out of view of the alley and up to the wall of the building next to him. He put the pizza on the ground quietly as she followed him. "It's Jeremy. You wanna get him, or shall I?"

"I'll do it," she flashed him a smile as her voice echoed in his head. "But you're welcome to help, if you want. Where is he?"

"About ten feet in," said Tails.

"Gotcha," she said in a cocky voice as she held up a finger gun. "This should be fun." She walked back in front of the alley and aimed her finger gun down it, firing several bolts of electricity into the alley. Tails heard several crackling explosions erupt in the alley, followed by a panicked scream that Tails knew to belong to Jeremy. Lucy flashed Tails a playful glance and turned her attention to the alley again, only to do a double take at him with a shocked glance. "Tails! Look out!" Tails whipped around quickly to find Spencer trying to sneak up on him.

"You called me Tails," Tails said in her mind.

"Sorry," Lucy's voice echoed in his head apologetically.

"Don't be," he replied happily. "I kinda liked it."

"Okay," she said. "I got Jeremy, you get Spencer. Remember, don't kill them."

"I'm not gonna kill him," said Tails.

"That was more me thinking to myself," said Lucy with a small chuckle. Tails turned his attention back to Spencer, who was running at him at full speed, pulling his arm back to land a punch on him. Tails jumped to the side, landing with his feet on the wall of the building. He twisted his tails behind him and propelled himself forward as he ran up the side of the building. At the second story, he pushed off the wall and somersaulted backward, firing telekinetic bullets with his hands at Spencer below him, remembering to keep their force to a minimum so as not to kill him. The invisible projectiles made no sign of hitting their target, aside from causing Spencer to trip over in surprise and fall forward. He caught himself and rolled on his side, springing up off the ground and landing on his feet. Tails landed on his feet a couple yards away, drawing a knife in each hand from out of nowhere, pulling them up above his head, preparing to throw them. He launched them both at Spencer as he turned to face Tails. Spencer was barely able to throw up his hands to generate a telekinetic shield to block the knives. They both bounced off of the invisible shield, creating sparks in the air as they ricocheted into the air. Tails grabbed them with his mind and pulled them back to him, catching them with each hand.

Then Spencer jumped at him, launching himself at Tails with a telekinetic pulse. He tackled Tails to the ground and pulled one of the knives out of his hand, raising the knife above his head to embed it in Tails' chest. He was about to bring the knife down when he was stopped by a light-golden furred hand that had enclosed itself around Spencer's fist. The hand pulled back on Spencer's arm, twisting it over his shoulder and pulling the knife out of his hand. He was lifted off of Tails as he cringed in pain from his arm being twisted behind his back. Tails looked up at who was holding his arm behind his back and saw Lucy with a sadistic smile on her face.

"Did you two honestly think that you could take me on?" she asked Spencer amusedly. "Maybe you could take Tails on, but you know better than to fight me and expect to even almost win." Spencer was about to reply when Lucy put her hand on his shoulder and shocked him into unconsciousness. He fell to the ground at her feet and she dragged him into the alley. She came back a couple seconds later, holding Tails' knife in her hand. She offered it to him as she helped him off the ground. "Here ya go."

"Thanks," said Tails as he brushed himself off and took the knife. "What'd you do to them?"

"They're just knocked out," said Lucy dismissively. "They'll wake up in a few minutes and head back to Dragon. What I wanna know is why he's not keeping them outta our way."

"We'll ask him that later," said Tails as he walked over to the wall and bent down to pick up the pizza box. "Right now, we have a pizza to deliver." He put his arm out in front of Lucy, who linked her arm with it, and walked down the sidewalk arm-in-arm next to her, carrying the pizza with his other arm. "Nice fighting back there, by the way."

"Thanks," replied Lucy quietly. She smiled and looked out into the passing traffic on the street. "You too."

"Thanks," said Tails with a quiet chuckle.

* * *

><p>"One! Two! Three!" yelled Tails and Sonic in unison. Each threw their hand out over the table from opposite sides. Sonic produced an opened hand with his palm facing down while Tails displayed a closed, sideways fist.<p>

"Haha!" laughed Sonic triumphantly as he grabbed the last piece of pizza from the box. "Paper beats rock!"

"Agh!" grunted Tails defeatedly. He sat back in his chair and chuckled as Sonic took a bite of pizza. "Dang it!"

"Mmm," hummed Sonic happily as he chewed the piece. "This was a great pizza."

"Yes it was," agreed Tails happily. He looked at the clock on the wall. Eight in the evening. He turned to Lucy, who was sitting next to him. "Hey, can we talk in private? Just for a few minutes."

"Yeah, sure," said Lucy.

"Excuse us," Tails said to Sonic and Sally as they got up from the table. He led Lucy to the guest bedroom down the hall and shut the door quietly behind them.

"Okay, you wanna call him, or shall I?" asked Lucy pulling out her phone and dialing a number.

"Huh? Call who?" asked Tails confusedly.

"Call Master," said Lucy. "I thought that's what you wanted to do."

"Oh, yeah, we should probably do that first," said Tails nervously. "I'll call him." He held out his hand for the phone.

"First?" asked Lucy suspiciously as she handed the phone to Tails. "Before what, Tails?"

"Just a moment," said Tails quickly as he put the phone to his ear. He listened to the ring from the speaker while he waited for the other line to pick up. Finally, the ringing stopped as someone on the other line picked up the phone.

"Hello?" said Dragon's voice over the phone.

"Hey, there," said Tails coolly. "I just wanted to ask how you expected me to get any work done over here if you're sending hit squads for me and Lucy."

"What?" asked Dragon confusedly. "What are you talking about, Miles?"

"Spencer and Jeremy intercepted us and tried to kill us on the street outside a pizzeria," said Tails. "I was under the impression that you'd keep them outta our way."

"I didn't know that they did that," said Dragon's voice thoughtfully. "I sent them out to go do a job for me. I thought they'd been gone for a while."

"A job?" asked Tails curiously. "What job?"

"Need-to-know, Tails," said Dragon calmly. "Don't worry."

"And Jeremy and Spencer need to know?" asked Tails.

"They don't even know what they're doing," said Dragon. "I sent them out to pick up a crate from a shipping facility in Mobotropolis. They don't know what's inside."

"Okay, whatever," said Tails with a sigh. "Are they gonna stay outta our way?"

"Yes," reassured Dragon. "Don't worry."

"Okay, good," said Tails "I'll talk to you later."

"Bye," said Dragon's voice. Tails threw his phone on the bed and turned to Lucy, who was leaning against the door with an expectant look on her face.

"Okay, so what did you wanna talk about?" asked Lucy quietly.

"Well, uh..." said Tails nervously. He had no idea what to say. "Um, do you remember, on our first date, how you said that you wish I could come back here and take you with me? That you wished it could just be us and nothing else?"

"Yeah," said Lucy slowly, an unsure expression on her face.

"Well, what if I said that we could do that?" asked Tails. "I told Elias that I was pretending to act as Dragon's agent to help take him down. What if we did that? What if we just turned on Dragon and took him down?"

"What are you saying?" asked Lucy.

"I'm saying we take him down here," said Tails. "He's sick. He's a killer. He's a psycho. Why don't we just take him down right here and end it all? You said that what you wanted most was friends, right? To fit in? You'd fit in perfectly here. I couldn't ask for a better girlfriend."

"Well, it sounds like a good idea," said Lucy thoughtfully. "How long have you been wanting to ask me this?"

"Since that night we sat in the jacuzzi together," said Tails as he moved toward her slowly.

"So, what would happen?" asked Lucy.

"We could work against Dragon from the inside," said Tails. "We could take him down and lead normal lives, you and me. Or, rather, as normal as you and me could be. It'd be great, Lucy. What d'ya say?" She was silent for a minute while she thought it over. Finally, she looked at Tails and smiled happily.

"Okay," she said quietly with a smile. "That sounds great."

"Great," said Tails as he led her out of the room, taking his phone off the bed and pocketing it.

* * *

><p>Dragon stood still in the dark room he was in and listened to the conversation between Lucy and Tails. Tails had forgotten to hang up his phone and Dragon could hear everything that was being said. He heard Tails trying to convince Lucy to betray him, he heard her give in to Tails' temptation, and he heard the phone being picked up off of whatever it had been laying on. He hung up and put the phone down on the table next to him. He had already begun thinking of ideas for vengeance. He knew there was no way he could proceed with his plan for a coup now, so revenge was his only option. He was going to do what he did best. Kill. He wasn't going to be nice about it either. His train of thought was interrupted as Jeremy and Spencer walked into the room, carrying a wide, short, rectangular crate together. They set it down and looked up at him.<p>

"Good job, boys," said Dragon quietly. "I heard that you tried to attack the traitors."

"Yes, we did," said Spencer quietly. "And we failed." They both hung their heads down in shame.

"Well, I wouldn't expect you to succeed," said Dragon with a shrug as walked over and inspected the crate. "Not with Lucy, anyway. You don't stand a chance against her." He snapped his fingers and the crate cracked open. "But now I think we can have a little fun here, since I'm stepping into the ring."

"What about the coup?" asked Jeremy curiously as he looked inside the box.

"Well, I think there's been a change in plans," said Dragon sadistically. "Forget the coup. We're going after a new target." He started laughing as he looked over what was in the box and Jeremy and Spencer smiled widely as they watched him. "Those traitors are in more trouble than they could imagine."

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, so I've been getting reviews about people being confused as to where Tails' loyalties lie, so I hoped that this cleared things up for you guys. Anyway, did you like it? Well, I'd usually have a number of questions for you, but there's only one question that needs asking: What does Dragon have in store for Tails as a part of his vengeance? Find out soon. Until then, review, favorite, alert, tell friends, and always take bubble baths when you stay overnight in a hotel that's more than a century old. Seeya!<br>**


	9. Fatherless

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am back! Yeah, sorry about the huge lack of updating, but I had a lot of things on my plate a while back. Mostly school. But now it's summer break! Hooray! Anyway, I'll probably be updating more frequently now. So, read and enjoy! Oh, and, to make up for the period of absence, I made this chapter extra long, with a juicy cliffhanger. So, like I said, read and enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Tails woke up on the couch in the living room. He sat up slowly, stretching his arms toward the ceiling and yawning loudly. He got up from the couch and walked to the kitchen. He poured a bowl of cereal and carried it back to the couch. He ate the cereal quietly while he watched the Holo-vision. After he drained the bowl of its contents, he sat back in his seat, only for his attention to be directed toward the hallway at the soft sound of footsteps entering the room. He saw Lucy emerge from the dark hallway. She was wearing a pair of short, white pajama shorts and a black, spaghetti strap undershirt that slightly exposed her midriff.<p>

"Good morning," she said quietly with a soft smile as she sat down next to him on the couch, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Sleep well?" he asked, leaning back and putting his arms around her.

"Fine," said Lucy with a yawn. "You?"

"Fine," he said shortly.

"What time is it?" she asked quietly.

"I think it's like six-thirty," replied Tails, not bothering to check on his watch. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Well, I woke up and heard that someone was awake," she explained quietly. She sounded like she was still waking up. "I wanted to see who it was."

"Ah," said Tails quietly with a nod. "You wanna just watch TV, then?"

"Sure," she said quietly. Tails put his feet up on the couch and scooted over to the armrest, laying down and leaning his head on it, inclining it to face the holographic screen. He patted the empty space next to him, indicating to Lucy to join him. She yawned softly again and laid down next to him, laying her head on his shoulder and cuddling up to him. Tails smiled slightly, chuckling quietly to himself as he watched the screen. After about fifteen minutes, Tails looked at the fox in his arm and found that she was sleeping soundly. He smiled again and closed his eyes, leaning his head back on the armrest and dozing off quietly.

* * *

><p>Sonic woke up to the sun shining on his face through the sliding glass door that led to the terrace. He felt great. He felt like everything was the way it was supposed to be. The woman he loved was next to him, his little brother was back home, and everyone was safe.<p>

"For now, at least," Sonic thought aloud to himself. He rolled onto his other side, facing away from the window, finding Sally lying next to him peacefully. He gave her a small peck on the cheek and climbed out of the bed quietly, being careful not to disturb the sleeping squirrel. He opened the door quietly and stepped out, shutting the door behind him silently. He walked down the hallway and into the living room to find Tails and Lucy asleep on the sofa together, Lucy cuddling closely to Tails' chest, wrapped in his arms as they both slept peacefully on the couch.

"Tails," Sonic whispered quietly in the twin-tailed fox's ear. He stirred slightly, twisting his head up to look at Sonic, squinting slightly as he let his eyes adjust to the sunlight-filled room.

"Sonic?" he yawned tiredly, rubbing one eye with the back of his hand.

"Good morning," replied Sonic with a soft smile.

"What time is it?" asked Tails in a whisper.

"I think it's like eight, but I haven't really looked at a clock yet," said Sonic quietly. He turned to walk away, but stopped as another question occurred to him. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped before he could make a noise, debating whether or not to ask the slightly awkward question that was on his mind.

"What, Sonic?" asked Tails somewhat impatiently with another yawn.

"Did anything, you know, happen between you two last night?" asked Sonic sheepishly. Tails stared up at him with an indignant expression, speechless. "Well, sorry, but I gotta ask. I'm already on your father's bad side because of the whole undercover thing. If _that_ happened while you were under my roof, he'd _kill_ me."

"Well, nothing happened," said Tails somewhat angrily. "Seriously, Sonic? You honestly think if something were to happen between me and Lucy that it would happen on your couch?"

"Sorry, but, like I said, your dad'd kill me," said Sonic defensively.

"Nothing happened, Sonic, you're safe," said Lucy shortly in an annoyed voice. "But I did hear something happening last night in _your_ room. The walls here are as thin as cardboard." Sonic's face turned red and he walked away without another word. He entered the kitchen and grabbed a bowl and some cereal and sat down at the kitchen table, pouring the milk and scooping a mouthful out with a spoon.

"Good morning," announced Sally with a yawn as she entered the kitchen in a light blue silk dressing gown. She retrieved a black kettle from a cabinet under the stove and filled it with water. She placed the kettle on the stove and lit the burner, sitting down by Sonic while she waited for the water to heat up.

"I think we need to find a way to soundproof our bedroom," Sonic told her quietly.

"Why?" asked Sally with a cocked eyebrow.

"Because we got a noise complaint," said Sonic quietly, taking another mouthful of cereal. Sally shot him a confused look. Then a look of understanding slowly came over her face as she understood what he was talking about.

"From whom?" she asked quietly.

"Lucy," Sonic looked down at his bowl as he swallowed his cereal.

"Well, I wasn't the one being loud," said Sally with a smile. Sonic's cheeks turned slightly red again and he turned his head to the side, directing his attention to the blank wall to his left. Then he turned around as he heard someone knocking on the front door.

"I got it," said Sonic as he stood up and left the kitchen. He arrived at the door and pulled it open, finding Nate waiting on the other side.

"Good morning," he greeted happily as he walked inside.

"Hi, Nate," said a bewildered Sonic, as he had no recollection of actually inviting the sniper in. "What's with the early morning visit?" He shut the door and came to Nate's side as he stopped by the sofa, catching site if Tails and Lucy lying together seemingly asleep.

"Well, I heard a rumor that a certain treacherous fox had returned and had been exonerated by the king," explained Nate. "I guess I heard right." He leaned in towards Sonic and cupped his hand over his mouth to whisper into the hedgehog's ear. "Did they..." He cut the sentence off and shot a nervous glance to Sonic.

"No, Nate, we didn't," cut in Tails in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, sorry, just had to ask," said Nate embarrassedly. "But I guess the issue has already been addressed."

"Yeah," said Sonic. "C'mon, Nate, you want anything? We're just sitting down for breakfast." He led Nate into the kitchen, leaving Tails and Lucy alone on the couch again.

"So, you want some breakfast?" Tails asked Lucy telepathically. She didn't respond for a few moments, thinking over whether or not she wanted Tails to leave to get her something.

"Sure," she replied in his mind. Tails sat up and stretched. He climbed carefully over the fox next to him and left her to go to the kitchen and get her some breakfast. After a couple minutes, he returned with a couple toaster waffles with syrup on a plate in his hand. He found her sitting up against the armrest of the couch, staring at the dark fireplace under the holo-generator absentmindedly.

"Bon appétit," Tails pulled out his French accent that he had subconsciously learned from knowing Antoine for so long. He held the plate in front of her and smiled as she took them from him. He handed her the fork and sat down next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders and placing his chin lightly on her shoulder. "So, I was thinking that it'd probably be a good idea for us to go see Elias. Y'know, introduce yourself, make a good impression, show him that you're on our side."

"Okay, but can I go alone?" asked Lucy quietly.

"Sure, I don't see why not," said Tails with a shrug. "I just thought that you'd want someone there with you when you visit the king."

"I don't need you to hold my hand, Miles," snapped Lucy quietly, layering her voice with disdain.

"Alright, sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like that," said Tails defensively. "If you wanna go alone, then fine, you do that." Tails got up and started for the kitchen. "I was only trying to help." Lucy looked at her waffles and started to cut a piece out of one with the side of her fork.

Tails walked into the kitchen to find Nate, Sonic, and Sally sitting together at the table. He sat down next to Sonic and leaned forward on the table with his elbows, resting his head in his hands. He sighed heavily and stared absentmindedly down at the center of the table.

"Okay, Tails, since you got back, I've been wondering exactly what you can do," said Sonic as put the last of his cereal into his mouth. He swallowed and looked at Tails. "So I was thinking that I could take you to that simulator and we can see the full extent of your abilities. You could bring Lucy with. I'd like to see her fight you." Tails was silent for a moment before he responded, staring at the table, seeming to Sonic to be deep in thought.

"Lucy's going to visit Elias," Tails finally said quietly, almost absentmindedly, not taking his eyes off the table. "But I'd be happy to go." Sonic gave him a concerned look.

"Hey, bro, is something wrong?" asked Sonic concernedly.

"Yeah," said Tails quickly, snapping out of his thoughts and looking up to face Sonic. "It's just that I asked Lucy if she wanted me to go with her and she snapped at me. Something about not needing her hand held or something."

"Okay, so?" asked Sonic confusedly.

"Well, it might just be me being a little paranoid or crazy," said Tails quietly, leaning in closer to Sonic to keep Nate and Sally from hearing. "But I think that she may be hiding something. I mean, I figure that Elias is going to interview her about her background, so if I go, I could learn more about her."

"Well, yeah, her whole life," said Sonic with a chuckle. "I mean, how much do you actually know about her, Tails?" Tails thought it over for a moment before answering.

"I don't know," admitted Tails. "I just thought it was her being private, ya know? I just didn't wanna pry, but..." He stopped to think it over again. "Nah." He waved his hand dismissively. "It's just me being crazy. She probably just needs her space. I mean, she's an independent person, right? I just need to back off a bit. It's nothing."

"Yeah, see?" said Sonic reassuringly. "Just getting worked up over nothing. And if you're really worried about her, you can just read her mind, right?"

"No," said Tails, suddenly taking in a grave expression.

"Well, I know you said she can block you, but it's not like she has her guard up all the time," said Sonic.

"Yeah, but I'm not gonna go invading her privacy like that," said Tails seriously. "I don't read anybody's mind without good reason, Sonic. At least, not their deep, personal thoughts. How would you like it if I went digging in your head for your dark secrets?" Sonic didn't know what to say. Somehow, Tails had been able to take him from a cheerful morning mood and leave him feeling like a huge jerk.

"Right," said Sonic, looking down at the leftover milk in his bowl.

"So, Tails, how does this whole 'psychic' thing work?" cut in Nate as he finished off his eggs.

"Well, there are several different kinds of psychic abilities," explained Tails. "There's telepathy, telekinesis, electrokinesis, and some others that I haven't actually witnessed yet, like teleportation. Anyone can learn a psychic ability, some may even have a natural talent to use one, like Lucy, who had always struggled to control her electrokinesis before Dragon taught her how to use it."

"So, anyone can learn any psychic ability?" asked Sally curiously. "Do we know how many of these that Dragon has learned?"

"Well, when I say anyone, I mean almost anyone," said Tails. "Every sentient organism has a deposit of latent psychic energy and, just like with normal, physical abilities, everyone has limits. Everyone can use this energy to do what they want with it, but the trick is accessing it. Also, the physical limits on how one uses psychic abilities vary with each individual. For example, while someone like me, who has a very large supply of psychic energy to tap into and has a large access to it, can channel and use it to do almost anything, like telepathy, electrokinesis, or telekinesis, all of which I can perform, someone else, who either has little-to-no psychic energy to tap into or very little access to it, or both, can't use any psychic abilities, or can barely perform the smallest of psychic feats before exhausting themselves. Also a part of these limits are limits on what abilities one can perform, like someone could be an expert telekinetic, almost invincible with telekinesis, but they have absolutely no aptitude at telepathy. Another form of psychic limit is how many abilities someone can learn. Like I might be able to learn any number of psychic abilities, someone else might be able to only learn one or two, regardless of what abilities they are." Sally, Sonic, and Nate stared at him silently as he finished explaining, thinking over what he had just told them. Finally, after a few moments of silence, Sally spoke up.

"So, do we know how many possible psychic abilities there are total?" she asked plainly.

"Now, I don't think there are actual psychic abilities," said Tails. "I mean, there are distinctions, like telekinesis and telepathy, but they're all essentially the same thing: the use of different techniques of channeling and using latent psychic energy."

"So, the list of possible psychic abilities is basically endless," said Nate in a disheartened tone.

"Until some more research and experimentation can be done to establish any universal limits of psychic performance, yeah," said Tails plainly.

"Again, how many of these abilities can Dragon use?" asked Sonic.

"Fortunately, he can only stand to learn two abilities," replied Tails. "Telekinesis and telepathy."

"You said he taught you all how to use your abilities better," said Sally. "Even Lucy and her electrokinesis. How did he do that if he can't use it?"

"Well, like I said, the trick is to access and channel the energy a certain way," explained Tails. "Lucy has never had trouble with channeling the energy to use electrokinesis, she's just had trouble controlling it. Dragon only taught her how to control it."

"Okay, so how do you know all this?" asked Nate. "I mean all the stuff about psychic energy, like the physical limits and the way it works." Tails opened his mouth to explain, but stopped short and took a moment to think over his answer.

"Well, most of it is just my own theories about the concept, but..." his voice trailed off as the other three groaned somewhat irritatedly.

"Seriously?" asked Sally.

"Well, I was hoping to test most of it and study it more, officially, after I present all this to Elias with a request to open a new field of study," said Tails, rubbing his neck embarrassedly.

"Okay, so how much of it is fact, Tails?" asked Sally.

"The part about everyone having varying abilities to use psychic energy," said Tails.

"Okay, and how do you know this?" asked Sally.

"Dragon taught me how to tell," he said.

"What, you can tell by looking at someone or something?" asked Sonic curiously.

"Well, it takes a more trained telepath to tell just by looking at someone," said Tails. "I can tell by digging deep into someone's mind, and I mean really deep. That way I can see very clearly the physical psychic potency in the mind. I can't dig deep enough without physical contact with the subject."

"Can you tell how psychic I am?" asked Sonic, offering his hand to Tails. Tails took it and closed his eyes, concentrating. He stayed silent for a few moments before releasing Sonic's hand and opening his eyes.

"Very limited amounts of psychic energy," said Tails plainly. "You might be able to perform a couple small psychic feats, but I don't think that you could very easily master any abilities. You'd probably struggle with it a lot."

"Eh, that's fine," said Sonic dismissively. "I don't need to rely on psychic powers anyway. All I need is my speed." He sat back and smiled smugly, crossing his arms and putting his feet up on the table, only to take them down a couple seconds later when Sally directed a scolding smack to his shin. Then Nate offered his hand to Tails.

"You want me to read you?" asked Tails.

"Yeah," said Nate with a small nod. Tails took his hand and closed his eyes again. A few moments later, he released Nate's hand and looked back at him.

"Nothing," said Tails. "Almost nothing. No psychic potential whatsoever. Sorry."

"It's alright," sighed Nate, leaning back in his chair. Tails held his hand out in front of Sally expectantly.

"You next?" he asked. She stared quietly at his hand while she thought for a moment.

"Sure," she said. She gave her hand to Tails and he closed his eyes while he read her. "Hey, Tails? Are you able to read my memories and thoughts while you do this?"

"Yeah, but I'm not gonna," he said absentmindedly.

"Okay, just making sure," she said.

"Trust me, okay, Sally?" Tails said as he released her hand. "And you're absolutely brimming with psychic energy. Not as much as me, I mean, but definitely a lot."

"Really?" she said curiously.

"Yep," replied Tails shortly. "Your brother, too. I think it may run in your family."

"How do you know that?" asked Sonic with a cocked eyebrow. "I thought you couldn't tell by looking at someone."

"Well, most of the time, I can't, but if they're really powerful, I can sense it practically irradiating out of them," said Tails.

"So Elias is an immensely powerful psychic and he has no idea?" asked Sonic. Tails nodded.

"Yeah," he said.

"Are there any other people walking around with immense psychic talent that they're totally unaware of?" asked Sally.

"Yeah, I've seen a few since I got back," said Tails. "Mostly while I was out and about running errands to fix up the dents that the undercover job put in my life."

"Well, I hope I wasn't one of those dents," Lucy walked in and put her empty plate down by the sink and sat down in Tails' lap. He wrapped his arms around her gently and leaned back in his chair with her.

"You ready to go see the king?" asked Tails.

"Yep," she said happily, laying her head back on his shoulder and giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Are you guys still in that whole lovey-dovey stage where you two can't keep your hands off each other?" asked Nate in a slightly annoyed voice.

"You sure you don't want me coming with you?" Tails asked Lucy quietly in her ear, ignoring Nate's comment.

"I told you, Tails, I'm fine," she said irritatedly.

"Alright," said Tails calmly. "It's just that there are certain formalities that you should observe when you're talking to the king if you wanna make a good impression and I don't know if you're aware of said formalities. You want all the help you can get when it comes to earning Elias's trust."

"Miles," she snapped quietly with a slight death stare.

"Cool it, guys," interjected Sally calmly, raising her hand and smiling at them. "Tails, it's fine. I'll give her a crash course on the 'formalities' she might need to know." She put air quotes around "formalities". "And Lucy, Elias is normally a laid back guy, but there are certain things you have to know when you're meeting him for the first time if you wanna put your best foot forward. Especially if you're a defecting enemy, which is essentially what you are."

"Okay, that sound good to you?" Tails asked Lucy.

"Yeah, sounds fine," said Lucy calmly.

"Good," said Tails. He gently slid out from under Lucy and let her sit on the chair. "Well, I have to go quickly shower and get dressed before I go with Sonic to the simulator thing."

"Aww, I wanna go," said Lucy jealously.

"Meet us after you're done with meeting Elias, if you can," said Tails as he headed for the door to the living room. Sally stopped him as he walked into the doorway.

"Tails, did either of you think to call Elias before sending Lucy to meet with him?" asked Sally with a smart smile.

"Um..." Tails turned around to face her with an embarrassed expression.

"That's a no," she said smugly. "It's fine. I'll call him myself. You go fight Sonic."

"Thanks, Sal," said Tails gratefully. He turned around and exited the room. They all heard the bathroom door shut and the sound of running water in the walls as the shower was started.

* * *

><p>Antoine flashed his ID keycard in front of the glass panel screen next to the black door that was marked "Authorized Personnel Only". The machine beeped softly and the door unlocked with a metallic click. Antoine opened the door and walked up the stairs on the other side of the door, coming to a small hallway that ended in another door. He followed the hallway to the end, opening the door and finding the blue hedgehog that had called him here and refused to tell him why he needed to be here, sitting in a chair on the other side of the room next to one of the simulator's pods. Antoine had told him that he didn't need to actually be there if Sonic wanted to use the simulator, only that he call him before he went to use it so that he could call the operator on duty to tell him to expect the hedgehog to come.<p>

"Hey, Ant," said Sonic, leaning back in his chair and smiling at the slightly frustrated coyote.

"Hello, Sonic," said Antoine shortly. He had gone back to his natural French accent in the month that Tails had been gone after hearing that the G.U.N. merger wouldn't be happening. "Why did you call me here?"

"Well, I wanted to share some big news with you, Antoine," said Sonic casually.

"What? Eez Sally pregnant?" asked Antoine in an annoyed voice, wondering what he could possibly mean by "big news".

"Please, you'd here that from Bunnie before you heard that from me," said Sonic with a chuckle. "Sally'd have that news out faster than I could run to tell it."

"So, what do you want to tell me?" asked a frustrated Antoine.

"We have a visitor," said Sonic calmly, gesturing over to the pods next to him.

"Hey, I think I helped build these pods," said Tails as he stepped out from behind the second pod, holding a screwdriver in his hand. Antoine immediately pulled his sidearm out of his holster and trained it on Tails.

"Okay, traitor, put your hands up and don't make any sudden movements," he growled warningly. "Miles Prower, you are under airrest for treason and attempted murder, among a number of ozer crimes."

"Whoa! Ant! He's cool! Don't arrest him!" said Sonic quickly, jumping in between Tails and the gun. Antoine stared Sonic down silently, thinking over what he should do next.

"Why not?" asked Antoine challengingly, keeping his weapon trained in front of him on the hedgehog.

"That's my big news," said Sonic happily. "Tails is back!"

"Yes, and he is wanted in ze Kingdom of Acorn for treason," growled Antoine.

"No, he's been exonerated," said Sonic.

"Seriously?" asked Antoine with a deep frown. "He shoots me, he shoots you, he beats ze freaking crap out of you, and he turns on ze whole kingdom. Zen he comes back and gets off clean?" He switched the safety on his pistol back on and put it back in his holster, all the while deepening his frown. "Zat's just great." He layered his voice with sarcasm, crossing his arms and giving Sonic an ice cold stare as he moved back to the chair he had been sitting in.

"He was undercover," said Sonic shortly. "He was on our side the whole time."

"And ze king bought zis story, did he?" asked Antoine skeptically.

"I've known the whole time," said Sonic. "I told him way back. Tails came back yesterday and he talked with Elias."

"And he just took heez word for eet?" asked Antoine furiously. "How do we know we can trust heem?"

"I trust him, Elias trusts him, and what does he stand to gain by joining Dragon?" argued Sonic.

"To be fair, he is watching me," cut in Tails. "Probably checking in on me by having Sally report to him on a regular basis to keep him up to speed on what I'm up to." Sonic shot him a surprised glance.

"You knew about that?" asked Sonic. Tails nodded.

"It wasn't that hard," said Tails with a shrug, leaning against the wall with his shoulder and crossing his arms. "He told me he'd be keeping me under close watch, who's closer than one of my best friends? If one of those friends happens to be his sister, then that just makes it easier." Sonic gave him an impressed look.

"Sorry, just because ze king trusts you does not mean zat I am going to," said Antoine disdainfully. Then he turned to Sonic. "Is that all you called me here for?"

"Well, I thought you'd wanna see what Tails can do," said Sonic, pointing behind him to the computer. "I thought maybe you could do a little fighting, too. Haven't seen you in a combat situation in a while. I think you may have lost your touch." Antoine flashed him a playful look as he thought over the challenge he had just been issued.

"Alright, 'edge'og, you are on," he said smugly. "Let me just make a few calls to cancel a couple appointments I had today. Then I'll find ze operator for ze simulator." He stepped out of the room, leaving Sonic and Tails in silence. After about a minute, Sonic broke the silence.

"So, should we be prepared for any retaliation from Dragon?" asked Sonic.

"Why?" asked Tails confusedly.

"Because you sorta betrayed him," said Sonic.

"Oh, right," said Tails. "He doesn't know. He thinks I'm working as his inside man here." Sonic flashed him an irritated look.

"Are you still in this undercover thing?" he asked irritatedly. "I thought he caught you stealing secrets from his computer."

"No, that was all staged," sighed Tails, looking down awkwardly, suddenly becoming very interested in his shoes. After a few moments of silence, Tails looked up at Sonic to see him wearing an expression of irritated disbelief. "Look, it's fine. King Elias approved it all. All I have to do is pass some information along to Dragon until he wants to go along with the coup. Then we'll take him down when he makes his move." Sonic thought it over silently. Finally his expression changed from irritation to annoyed defeat.

"Fine," he sighed. "Let's hope that's soon. The sooner that guy's six feet under, the better."

"You- You're gonna kill him?" asked Tails uncomfortably.

"Well, yeah, Tails, he's too dangerous to be left alive," said Sonic. "We can't risk him being alive. We can't keep him in prison. What prison would be able to hold him? As long as he's alive, he's a threat to us, everyone we know and care about, and basically the entire general public. He's too powerful and dangerous to be left alive."

"Yeah, being a powerful telekinetic and telepath, he can't be held down by anything," said Tails with a sigh.

"Look, I know we don't really encourage killing, Tails, but this isn't exactly a normal circumstance," said Sonic quietly. "We both have to swear that the next chance we get, we take him down. Otherwise, who knows who's next. Sally, Lucy, Antoine, Bunnie, your parents, my parents, Elias, Shadow, maybe even Amy."

"You think he'd go all the way to Downunda?" asked Tails. Amy had moved to Downunda with her new boyfriend shortly after Sonic had gotten engaged to Sally. They knew it was a bit unorthodox, but they also knew that if her boyfriend tried to do anything that Amy didn't want, she'd make sure he never would again. Never make Amy Rose angry.

"I don't know," said Sonic with a sigh. They were silent for a few moments before Sonic spoke up again. "So, after all this is done, are psychics going to start becoming a normal thing?"

"Probably," said Tails. "Hopefully I'll discover some way to negate psychic abilities so that we don't have to execute every psychic criminal we catch."

"Criminal?" asked Sonic.

"Well, yeah," said Tails quietly. "My guess is more people like Dragon are gonna start popping up. Maybe not as bad as him, but they find out they've got an advantage over others and they'll use that to better themselves. I also think that more people like me are gonna pop up, wanting to us their newfound powers to fight psychic crime."

"And then it's the same old tale as before," said Sonic contemptuously. "The war on crime is exactly the same as before, except the magnitude is greater because every criminal and law officer is more powerful than before and more innocent lives are being pulled in, people who just want to live as regular lives as possible. Then there are the rare few who aren't able to use psychic powers who are probably going to become either petty criminals or psycho serial killers who are just mad at the world because they think they were cheated or something." He leaned his head in his hand and sighed, slumping back in his chair. "Yeah, looks like a bright future for Mobius."

"Well, I don't plan on going public about psychics for years, Sonic," said Tails. "After this whole Dragon business is over, I think the best thing to do is to round up a small group of candidates for a new division in the military. A psychic division. That way we can study and research psychic abilities more thoroughly. Then after that's done, we can document anyone with a certain potency of psychic energy and keep watch over them, make laws to keep them in line so they can function in society, and punish anyone who disobeys the law. It's just adapting to something new. It'll take some time, but we can do it. If we do it right, this could actually be a very bright future for Mobius."

"And what about the people who have abilities who want to play vigilante?" asked Sonic. "There's no way that's gonna be legal."

"If they wanna do that, they do what normal people do," said Tails shortly. "Enlist in the military."

"Still, something just doesn't sit right with me about it," said Sonic. "I mean, what am I supposed to do when those psychic criminals start coming out? Dragon is the only person I've been genuinely afraid of. He nearly killed all my friends and I couldn't do anything to stop him. People look up to me as the 'Protector of Mobius'. How much protection can I give when I can barely stand a chance against the new threats that are coming? And then I'm gonna have a kid by then, so how am I gonna-"

"What?" interrupted Tails confusedly.

"What, you don't think I'm planning on having kids?" asked Sonic.

"Well, no, but you sounded like it was a sure thing already," said Tails slowly.

"Well, not exactly for sure, but..." his voice trailed off and he looked down at his chest in an attempt to avoid Tails' disbelieving stare. "Okay, well, you know how Antoine just asked if Sally was pregnant?"

"Is she?" asked Tails. "'Cause you said she wasn't."

"We don't know," said Sonic quietly, looking back up at Tails. "She said it's possible, but she's not sure yet. She's going to get a test done this afternoon, so we're hoping."

"No way, that's fantastic!" said Tails happily.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it," said Sonic smiling slightly.

"So why does having a kid worry you?" asked Tails.

"I don't know," sighed Sonic. "I guess I'm just worried about there being more people like Dragon, people that I can't stop so easily when it comes to protecting the people I care about."

"But I can," said Tails, walking over to Sonic's side. "And you're kid's probably going to be a very powerful psychic, just like Sally. And when he's older, he'll have the most powerful psychic in the world as an uncle who can train him." Sonic chuckled slightly.

"Someone has a swelled head," he said amusedly.

"Well, right now, Dragon's the most powerful," said Tails. "But after he's outta the way, then I take that title."

"You've had a month's training," said Sonic. "And what about Lucy? I bet she's more powerful than you."

"Probably," chuckled Tails. Then they both looked up as the door opened and Antoine walked in with a brown fox in a military uniform.

"Hey, Virgil," greeted Sonic happily. "This is my friend, Tails." He gestured toward the twin-tailed fox next to him.

"Oh, I know who he is," said Virgil with a smile. "I heard you turned sides, though."

"Long story," said Tails uncomfortably.

"Yeah, he's cool now," said Sonic dismissively. "And he's fighting me today."

"Alright," said Virgil with a shrug. "Go on and get in the pods." He pointed at the pods behind them. "Is the commander here gonna join you?"

"Not right now," said Sonic as he laid down in the pod. "I want the first fight to be just Tails and me."

"Alright," said Virgil.

* * *

><p>Lucy walked through the large, wooden double doors of the royal court. She walked the long length of the court, stopping just in front of the wide set of stairs that led to the throne where King Elias sat.<p>

"King Elias, I have come to introduce myself to you," she recited exactly how Sally had told her to, bowing slightly.

"You must be Lucy," he said kindly. He got up from his throne and walked down the large, stone steps, stopping in front of Lucy. He scrutinized her carefully, looking her over and sizing her up silently as she stood unmoving in front of him. "So, you wanted to speak to me?"

"Yes, sir, I think Tails told you that I am still loyal to that psycho-dog," she said somewhat nervously.

"Yes, he did say that," said Elias calmly. "Have you come to prove me wrong?"

"Yes, sir," she said. "I would like to know how I can do that."

"Well, since I have only a few minutes here," said Elias calmly. "I just have a couple questions. Answering them truthfully will be a good first step to earning my trust."

"What questions?" asked Lucy.

"Well, really, just your name and your age," said Elias. "That's all I need to look you up. I should be able to get a good background check done after I have that information. So, what's your full name?"

"Lucy Anita Walker," said Lucy uncomfortably. She didn't like revealing her full name. She hadn't even told Tails yet.

"And your age?" asked Elias.

"Seventeen," said Lucy. "Born April thirteenth."

"That was after Robotnik dominated the planet," said Elias. "Where'd you grow up?"

"In one of the Freedom Fighter resistance communities," said Lucy. "My father was an agent for the Freedom Fighters in the Dragon Kingdom."

"Really? Who was he?" asked Elias.

"His name is Joshua Walker," said Lucy quietly. They were both silent for a few moments before Elias spoke up.

"Well, like I said before, I have other things I need to attend to," said Elias as he walked back up to his throne. "I'll contact you if I have any questions."

"Uh, sir?" Lucy said nervously. "There's something I didn't tell you that I think you should know. I kept it a secret from everyone, but I know you're gonna figure it out on the background check. I don't want it to look like I was keeping this a secret because I'm a traitor when it's really just out of shame."

"Well, we wouldn't want to mistaken embarrassment for treachery," said Elias as he sat down in his throne. "What do you need to tell me?"

"Well, uh..." stammered Lucy nervously. She looked behind her at the guards at the doors. She didn't trust them. She walked up the steps to the throne and walked to Elias's side, bending down to whisper in his ear. Elias's eyes widened as he listened to what she told him. He shot her a surprised look after she stood back from him.

"Really," he remarked quietly. She nodded silently at him. "You haven't told Tails yet, have you?" She shook her head. "Well, you need to. Quickly. Before he finds out some other way. If he finds out that you kept that from everyone, they'll all freeze you out. They'll feel betrayed and they won't be very forgiving about it."

"Right, yeah," she said quietly. "I'll tell him after I have dinner with him tonight."

"Good idea," said Elias. "Now, you can go. I have other things that need me. But I will definitely be calling you back for questions."

"Right," said Lucy as she turned to leave. "Thank you, your highness."

* * *

><p>Tails dove behind cover behind a large rock as he dodged gunfire from Antoine. After the gunfire ceased, he crouched down and peeked around the rock to see where Antoine was. He saw nothing but more boulders jutting out from the mountainside battlefield that had been the location Virgil picked for the simulation battle.<p>

Tails decided to try duck out from behind the rock. He started running out when he hit something soft in front of him. The color blue flooded his vision and he heard a grunt as he fell on tip of the soft wall he had run into and brought down. After he hit the ground, he looked up and saw Antoine staring back at him. Antoine was on his back, struggling under Tails' weight, trying to scramble to his feet to retrieve the gun that had been knocked out of his hand in the Mobian collision.

Tails rolled off of Antoine's chest and jumped quickly to his feet, grabbing the gun with his mind as he ran away from the coyote. He looked back and saw the gun flying toward him. He reached out to it and caught it in his hand.

"Give me back my gun!" he heard Antoine yell as he faced forward again and ran. He jumped into the air and spun his tails to chopper up into the simulation clouds. He turned as he flew higher, flying back at Antoine.

"Alright! Here it is!" Tails yelled as he dive-bombed Antoine. He threw the gun down at the coyote and flew back up, stopping his tails as he flew upwards again. He spread his arms out as he started to fall back towards the ground. He concentrated a ball of electricity in his hand and took aim as he saw Antoine scrambling to pick up his gun. Tails let loose the lightning bolt in his hand and spun his tails behind him again to slow his descent towards the ground. The lightning bolt sped quicker than a bullet at the gun, tearing through the air with a loud clash. The bolt hit the gun as Antoine put his hand around the handle. The electricity surged through the gun, igniting the ammunition in the magazine and turning the gun into a fragmentation grenade.

"AUGGHHH!" Antoine screamed as the exploding gun launched metal shrapnel into his body. Tails drifted down to the ground as the simulation started dissolving before him. His vision flashed out and he opened his eyes to see the ceiling of the simulator room.

"Nice job, bro," said Sonic as he helped Tails out of the pod. "Isn't that what Lucy did to your dad that night we came to rescue you?"

"Well, my dad wasn't killed," said Tails with a smug smile as he sat down in the chair by the pod. "But yeah, basically."

"Zat hurt!" said Antoine as he scrambled out of his pod. "I did not know zat it hurt zat much!"

"Well, it could have been worse, Ant," said Sonic. Then he turned back to Tails. "Okay, now it's you and me again. I wanna see what you can do with your telepathy this time. Nothing but playing with my head, okay?" Tails thought it over a moment.

"No limits?" asked Tails. "Because I can be pretty creative."

"Um... Sure, no limits," said Sonic somewhat nervously.

"Alright," said Tails as he got back into the pod. Virgil came to the pods and prepared them for activation. Then he went back the computer and started the simulator. The pods started humming and the lids closed. Tails saw the light under him start to move slowly up and down the length of the pod. The light sped up gradually and there was a bright flash. Tails opened his eyes to see a blue sky outlined by a canopy of treetops. He sat up to find that he was in a clearing in what looked like a jungle. He looked to his left and saw Sonic getting up on his feet. Tails stood up and faced him.

"Okay," said Sonic as he dusted himself off. "Now, screw with my head. Do whatever you want to to take me down." Tails thought for a moment before he responded.

"Right, I got something," said Tails with a mischievous smile. He locked eyes with Sonic and concentrated hard, taking over Sonic's mind and putting it under his control, making Sonic see and hear and think what he wanted it to. Sonic's vision flashed out and his head exploded with pain. He felt himself fall on all fours, unable to stay standing with the agonizing pain in his head. Finally he felt the pain in his head disappear and he opened his eyes to find himself back in the simulator room. He sat up in his pod and saw Tails stepping down off of his own.

"Tails, I said something creative," said Sonic.

"Well, I just thought I'd start with the basics," said Tails with a shrug. "I haven't exactly had very much practice with lethal, telepathic warfare."

"Alright, let's go again," said Sonic. "This time, screw with my head a little."

"Why are you so set on me screwing with your head?" asked Tails with a cocked eyebrow.

"Because I wanna know what it's like now so that I can try to fight it if it happens in the future," said Sonic as he laid back down in the pod.

"Okay then," said Tails. He turned to walk to his pod, but stopped short when his phone rang. He rummaged in his pocket for the phone, pulling it out and putting it to his ear.

"Hello?" he said into the phone. Sonic watched him as he listened for a moment. "Alright. I'll be there in a minute." He turned back to Sonic as he hung up and put his phone away. "Lucy wants us to go open the door for her. She says she needs to talk to us."

"Alright," said Sonic as he sat up and stepped down from the pod. He followed Tails out the door and down the stairs to the outside. Tails opened the door to an empty courtyard. Sonic was right on his heels. They both looked around, but Lucy was nowhere in sight. Something didn't feel right to Sonic. "I thought you said Lucy said she was waiting for us."

"She did," said Tails confusedly. "She said she was right at the-" Tails was cut off by the sounds of three different holes being blown into chest; three small, sickening, gushy pops followed by the sound of blood spattering the cement. Sonic didn't even hear any gunshots. He just watched as Tails' blood flooded out of the wounds, soaking his white T-shirt and staining it crimson red. Sonic was able to catch the dying fox in his arms before he hit the ground.

"S- S- Sonic," gasped Tails, blood running slightly from his open mouth.

"Tails," whispered Sonic in horror as his little brother's blood ran from the fox's chest onto him. He had no idea what to say. He had just watched the fox get shot to death. He wasn't dead yet, but Sonic knew that the fox was not going to survive this one.

"Sonic," Tails whispered painedly through rasping, blood-filled breaths. "Come closer. I- (cough) I need to- (cough) Tell you something." Sonic felt Tails' shaking hand grab the back of his head and pull his face down so Tails could whisper in the hedgehog's ear. "Was this creative enough for you?" Sonic jerked his head away at the words the dying fox had whispered in his ear. He looked up to find he was no longer in the empty courtyard at the military base, but in the jungle clearing in the simulation. But he wasn't shocked only at being in the courtyard, but also at the fact that Tails was standing right in front of him, completely unwounded, smiling malevolently. Sonic looked back down at his arms to find that Tails bloody body and all the spilled blood had vanished.

"Tails," whispered Sonic, this time out of pure shock. "Tails, what the hell was that?"

"Sorry, Sonic," said Tails, raising his hand up and pointing at Sonic. "You said no limits." He flicked his hand and Sonic felt a sharp pain in his neck, followed swiftly by a warm feeling that ran down his front like warm water running down his chest. He looked down and saw a stream of blood running down his cheat. Then his vision flashed out and he opened his eyes to find himself, again, in his pod in the simulator room. He sat bolt upright and scrabbled out of the pod. He stumbled over to the chair by his pod and dropped into it, breathing quickly and heavily.

"What eez wrong, Sonic?" asked Antoine concernedly as he walked over to Sonic. Tails followed him closely.

"Sorry, was that a bit _too_ creative?" asked Tails unsuredly.

"Yeah, just a bit," said Sonic, shuddering slightly.

"What happened?" asked Antoine concernedly.

"Nothing," said Sonic quietly, looking away uncomfortably. Then he jerked his head up again at the sound of Tails' cell phone ringing.

"Whoa," remarked Tails as he looked at the caller ID. "Déjà vu."

"What?" asked Sonic.

"It's Lucy," said Tails as he put the phone to his ear. He turned away slightly to talk. "Hey, what's up?" Sonic and Antoine watched as he listened for a moment. "How'd your meeting with Elias go?" He listened for a little while again. "That's good. So why don't you make your way over to the base. Sonic wants to see you fight me. Apparently you told him that you could kick my ass." Sonic saw him smile as he listened to her reply. "Well, we'll see about that." He was silent for another couple seconds. "Alright, I'll be there in a sec." He hung up and pocketed his cell phone.

"More 'déjà vu'?" asked Sonic, air-quoting "déjà vu".

"She wants me to let her in," said Tails with a breathy chuckle. "I'll be back in a seco-" he was cut off by Sonic shoving him to the side.

"I got it," he said, rushing out the door before Tails could say a word.

"What eez going on?" asked Antoine frustratedly.

"Nothing," said Tails dismissively as he watched the closed door, waiting for Sonic to return with Lucy. The room was silent, aside from Antoine grumbling under his breath. Tails thought he heard the phrase, "nobody tells me anything anymore", but he couldn't be sure.

Finally, after about thirty seconds, the door opened and Sonic walked in, followed closely by Lucy, who walked straight over to Tails and wrapped her arms around him. He returned the embrace and gave her a small peck on the cheek.

"Sacre bleu!" yelled Antoine in surprise. "Her, too? I mean, I can undairstand you trusting Tails blindly, but we don't even know her."

"The king trusts me," said Lucy smartly as she turned to face Antoine with a smug expression. "Hello again, by the way, Commander." Antoine frowned slightly at the greeting.

"Oh, c'mon, Ant," said Tails playfully. "You could be just a little nicer to my girlfriend."

"Okay, relax, guys," said Lucy with a small laugh. "King Elias doesn't totally trust me yet. He's doing a background check on me, okay? You good with that, Commander?"

"Not totally, but eet eez probably ze best I will get, since I am ze only one who is being careful about who we trust," grumbled Antoine.

"Alright, since we've gotten the whole who-can-trust-who argument outta the way, let's see the lovely couple duke it to the death," announced Sonic happily.

"Sorry, Sonic," cut in Virgil apologetically. "You guys have to leave now. There's a group of soldiers coming up here in five minutes for combat training." Sonic sighed sadly.

"Okay," he said quietly. "Let's go, guys. We'll come back some other time to see Lucy kill Tails." Sonic led them all to the door and out to the courtyard.

"So, what next?" asked Lucy when they stopped outside the door to the courtyard.

"Well, you and I have to go buy some new clothes," Tails told her. "We've both only got one set, since that's all we could take when we ran. We need some new clothes for dinner tonight."

"Sounds good," said Lucy.

"What about you, Sonic?" asked Tails curiously.

"I'm gonna go home and hang with Sal," he said dismissively. "How about you, Antoine?"

"I have ozer military business to attend to," he replied, turning to walk away and giving a small wave goodbye. "I'll see you all later."

"Alright, so everyone's good, then," said Sonic. "When are you going to your parents', Tails?"

"Later tonight," said Tails.

"Alright, I'll see ya, then," said Sonic shortly as he started to leave.

"You'll call me if you find out anything about..." he chose not to finish, instead giving Sonic a look to try to communicate what he meant.

"Yeah, I'll call you," said Sonic as he turned away. Then he bolted toward the front gate and was gone.

* * *

><p>Tails walked, with Lucy by his side, up the front walk of his house, knocking on the door upon their arrival to it. They waited a few seconds before Tails' mother answered it and welcomed them in.<p>

"Hello, Miles," she greeted happily. She was looking a lot better than she had the day before.

"Hey, Mom," replied Tails with a smile as he stepped inside, followed closely by Lucy.

"Oh, and you must be Lucy," said Rosemary. "Nice to meet you."

"Hello," greeted Lucy quietly. Rosemary showed them into the kitchen. Amadeus was already in there, cooking something in a pot on the stove.

"Hello, Miles," he greeted as he turned to look at them all. He spotted Lucy behind him and offered his hand out for her to shake. "And I believe we've already met." He smiled as she shook his hand.

"Well, I guess it depends on what you mean by 'met'," said Lucy, smiling back.

"Well, yeah, I guess," said Amadeus with a shrug, turning back to the pot on the stove.

"Uh-oh, dad's cooking," said Tails, feigning worry.

"Don't worry, I'm making sure he doesn't ruin anything," said Rosemary reassuringly. "It'll be ready in about ten minutes, so, Miles, why don't you show Lucy around while you wait?"

"Okay," said Tails, smiling at Lucy. "C'mon, I'll give you the grand tour." He took her by the hand and led her out of the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Dragon walked quickly, leading Jeremy and Spencer behind him, who were practically jogging behind him to keep up with his quick pace. They were in an abandoned house. Dragon walked into the empty living room, all that stood inside it was a wooden mantel next to a moderately sized window. He walked to the window and looked across the street outside, catching sight of his target in the house opposite him.<p>

"You two remember the plan, right?" he asked of his two apprentices, who stood quietly behind him, geared up for the operation they had planned.

"Yes, sir," they replied quietly in unison.

"Good," he replied casually. "Now, both of you, get into position." Spencer left the room silently as Jeremy took a place beside Dragon at the window. "Now, when I give my mark, you do exactly as I taught you, got it? Then you go and provide back up for Spencer."

"What'll you be doing, Master?" asked Jeremy quietly.

"I'll be providing cover fire from here," replied Dragon as he readied himself, assuming his sniping position. He took careful aim, using his arm to aim accurately. "Okay, get ready." Spencer closed his eyes and concentrated, slowing his breathing and narrowing his focus to the desired target. "Okay, on three. One, two, three!"

* * *

><p>"So, Lucy, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?" asked Amadeus as he rolled a bit of spaghetti around his fork.<p>

"Well, what do you wanna know, General?" asked Lucy casually as she took a bite of her spaghetti.

"How about we start with your last name?" said Amadeus. Lucy looked down at her food uncomfortably for a moment before clearing her throat and looking back up.

"My name is Lucy Walker," she said slowly.

"So that's your last name," said Tails in realization.

"You didn't know?" asked Rosemary with a cocked eyebrow.

"Well, when I met her, she just introduced herself as 'Lucy'," replied Tails with a shrug. "I guess it's just always been 'Lucy' to me. Never really thought about it."

"Okay, then," said Rosemary dismissively.

"So, Miss Walker, if you don't mind my prying, how is it that you ended up running with Dragon?" asked Amadeus curiously.

"Well, I grew up in a Freedom Fighter resistance community," explained Lucy. "My father was an assassin for the Freedom Fighters. He retired and moved to Mobotropolis after Robotnik went down the first time. Shortly after that, when I was about ten, my mother was murdered. After that, my father went crazy and killed himself."

"Oh, that's awful," said Rosemary sympathetically. "How?"

"I never found out," said Lucy with a bitter smile. "I just remember being pulled out of class and having the school councilor breaking the news to me. Never found out the details. Next thing I knew, I was dumped at an orphanage. Anyway, about two and a half years ago, I meet this guy on a day trip that I went on with the other orphans. I had grown up my whole life with these strange, electric powers that I had no control of and this guy tells me that he knew exactly what was happening and that he could help me learn to control them. I guess my want to be able to control my abilities coupled with my extreme abhorrence for that orphanage made the offer he made to teach me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Admittedly, it may not have been my wisest decision, but I still think that if I hadn't gone with it, I'd still be in that orphanage today."

"So, did they ever catch the man who murdered you're mother?" asked Rosemary quietly.

"No," said Lucy somewhat sadly. "He's still out there somewhere." Everyone was silent while they took in what she had said. After about a minute of silence, Tails spoke up.

"So, Mom, you're looking a lot better," said Tails in an attempt to change the subject.

"I'm feeling a lot better, thanks," she said quietly. "The doctor said it was probably just the shock of you..." her voice trailed off and she put her hand to her head and gasped quickly. "Oh, my head."

"Mom, what's wrong?" asked Tails worriedly.

"My head..." she repeated with a gasp. "I... My..." She sighed heavily as she fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Mom!" yelled Tails, getting up to look at her.

"Rosemary!" exclaimed Amadeus, doing the same thing. Then they all looked up when there was a loud crash in the other room as the front door was bashed down. Lucy was up in an instant, ready to fight. Then there was a loud shattering as the large window next to the table shattered, followed by a sickening, gushy pop that he had heard for the fourth time that day as a spatter of blood exploded from Amadeus's left pectoral and he fell to the floor, motionless.

"DAD!" yelled Tails in horror as he rushed to his father's side.

"Tails, help your dad, I'll cover us," said Lucy quickly. She held her hand up in front of her, arks of electricity jumping between her fingers, ready to be launched at whoever should come into the room. Then she quickly dove for cover as the room was filled with loud CRACKS and CRUNCHES as whoever had shot Amadeus started to fire on the rest of the room. Tails flicked his hand out and the small, square table they had been eating at flipped onto its side with a loud crash. Tails reached out towards his mother's unconscious body and pulled it over to him, dragging himself, his mother, and his father behind the table.

"Lucy! Come here!" shouted Tails over the sound of the telekinetic gunfire. "Get behind the table!"

"No way," she replied from the corner she had ran for to take cover. "I'm gonna see who broke down the-" She stopped speaking and started moaning sharply in pain as she grabbed her head and fell to her knees. "Holy shit!" Then Tails' vision blinked out as his head suddenly exploded with pain. He grabbed his own head in a vain effort to make the pain go away. Then he heard the sound of Lucy firing off lightning bolts and the sounds of kicking and punching. Then everything was quiet and the pain in Tails' head disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. He looked up to find his mother missing from his side and Lucy's still form on the ground by the doorway into the room.

"Ugghh," Tails looked down at the wounded fox lying in his arms.

"Dad!" said Tails quietly.

"Miles?" Amadeus spoke in a pained, raspy voice. He coughed and a small trickle of blood ran out of his mouth. "What happened?" He craned his neck down to look at the wound in his chest.

"I don't know," said Tails worriedly. "I think Mom was kidnapped."

"What?" he asked in a panicked voice.

"Lucy!" Tails called over to her. She stirred and looked up at him.

"Oh, my head," she groaned quietly.

"Lucy, what happened?" asked Tails as he repositioned himself to apply pressure to his father's wound.

"Spencer and Jeremy," she growled angrily as she stood up. "They got your mother. I tried to stop them, but it was two-on-one, they had the element of surprise, and my head was-"

"Whatever, it's fine," interrupted Tails. "It's not like I was much help. Can they still be caught?"

"I'm gonna go try," said Lucy, heading for the door. "You stay here with him and make sure he's okay."

"Stay safe," said Tails.

"You too," she replied as she left the room.

"Okay, hold on a minute, Dad," said Tails, closing his eyes and concentrating on the cell phone in his pocket. "Help is on the way." He felt the phone being pulled out of his pocket and opened his eyes and watched as it rose into the air in front of him. He closed his eyes again to concentrate on operating the device, dialing the keys that would send a call to the emergency services. The call started to send and he pressed the 'speakerphone' button, setting it down on the floor next to Amadeus.

"Hello, you've reached the Emergency Services Hotline, what is your emergency?" the voice from the speaker rang through the room, breaking the silence that had set in.

"Yeah, hey, I'm at the home of Amadeus and Rosemary Prower," started Tails quickly. "General Prower's been shot. He's wounded and needs medical attention. Mrs. Prower's been kidnapped and is currently being taken to a different location against her will. Suspects are a brown furred wolf and a blonde, Caucasian human. Send help ASAP."

"Yes sir, help will be there shortly," said the female voice over the line. "Just remember to-"

"Sorry, gotta go," said Tails quickly. He blinked and the phone disconnected. Then he closed his eyes and concentrated on dialing Sonic's number. He thought that maybe Lucy could use a little outside help. He listened as the phone began to ring. After it had rung twice, someone on the other line finally picked up.

"Dinner over, Tails?" he heard Sonic's voice ask.

"You could say that," said Tails in a mock casual voice.

"Did it go badly?" asked Sonic, now sounding a little concerned.

"You could say that, too," said Tails in the same mock casual voice. Then he started talking in a much more urgent voice. "Okay, Sonic, I need you to get over here as quickly as you can, Dragon's goons interrupted the dinner with a home invasio-" He was cut off by the sound of the phone disconnecting, followed shortly by the sound of a loud whooshing sound that was growing louder by the second, coming closer to the house. Then the noise silenced and Sonic walked quickly into the room. He stopped short when he saw the damage that had been done.

"Is this Dragon's doing?" he asked quickly, surveying the torn-apart room.

"I don't know," said Tails quickly as he continued to try and staunch the bleeding of his father's wound, but to little avail. The blood was still seeping slowly out of the wound between Tails' hands, running off Amadeus's chest and onto the floor. "It was definitely his apprentices, but whether he had anything to do with it still remains to be seen."

"So, what's the status report here, then?" asked Sonic, walking to Tails' side.

"Well, I've got help coming," said Tails nervously as he tried harder to stop the slow flow of blood from the wound. "Mom's been kidnapped. You should probably go help Lucy. She went to try and rescue her."

"Where is she?" asked Sonic quickly.

"Call her and find out," said Tails plainly, throwing the phone to him with his mind.

"Gotcha," said Sonic, catching the phone. He booked it out of the room, kicking up a small cloud of dust on his way out. Tails turned his attention back to the bleeding fox on the ground next to him. He pressed down harder on the wound, applying as much pressure to the wound as possible.

"Don't worry, Dad," said Tails quietly, trying to sound as calm as possible, even though he was starting to panic. "Sonic and Lucy'll get Mom back and help's coming for you. Everything's gonna be fine."

"Good one," whispered Amadeus with a rueful chuckle and smile.

"Don't talk like that, Dad," said Tails sharply. "You're gonna be fine. And I'm gonna get Mom back, too."

"I'm not worried about your mother," replied Amadeus. "But I think it may be too late for me."

"Of course it isn't," said Tails quietly. But even he didn't believe what he was saying. He knew that his father was losing a lot of blood and he had no idea just how severe his father's injuries were. He didn't know how deep the wound was, but he knew that the telekinetic projectile could have punctured a lung. "I'm sorry, Dad."

"For what?" asked Amadeus quietly. He coughed again and a spray of blood shot out of his mouth.

"For this whole mess," said Tails sadly. He sniffed slightly and wiped away the tears that were gathering in his eyes with his forearm. "I never should have tried to pull off this undercover job. This whole thing was supposed to be clean and quiet, ending with Dragon's capture or death. Now I've got his stupid lackeys on my tails, Mom's been kidnapped, and you've been shot."

"It's not your fault, Miles," said Amadeus quietly. "You didn't do this, Dragon did. It's his fault, not yours."

"Yeah, but no one was supposed to get hurt," said Tails, voice breaking. "Especially not you and Mom."

"Well, at least it was only me," said Amadeus quietly through gritted teeth. "I'm just an old soldier who's losing his touch." He chuckled again, coughing up a little blood at the same time.

"I don't want to lose you," whispered Tails sadly, tears streaming down his face now.

"Well, at least you got a girlfriend out of this," said Amadeus, smiling slyly. Tails laughed slightly at this.

"You like her?" asked Tails quietly.

"Yeah," said Amadeus thoughtfully. "She's a nice girl. And I can tell you really like her."

"Well, of course I like her," said Tails with a slight smile. "Why would I go out with her if I didn't?"

"No, I mean more than that," said Amadeus. He stiffened slightly as a spasm of pain rocketed through his body, coughing again, this time blood came spilling from his mouth.

"Wha- What do you mean?" asked Tails with a nervous chuckle. He quickly repositioned his hands over the wound to attempt to better stop the bleeding.

"Oh, pl- please," stammered Amadeus through gritted teeth. "I see the way you look at her. You're head-over-heels for her. You may not be very experienced, but I know a love struck man when I see one."

"Well..." Tails' voice trailed off. He was speechless. He had no idea what to say. He didn't know if he agreed with what his father said, but he didn't have time to sort through his feelings for Lucy at the moment, so he went back to focusing on stopping the bleeding of the wound.

"Miles, I'm so proud of you," Amadeus finally said with a sad smile, breaking the silence. A single tear formed in his right eye as he stared up at his son happily. "Look at everything you've done. A world famous hero." He chuckled slightly and more blood started trickling from his mouth.

"Dad, it's gonna be alright, just hang on," said Tails quickly. "Please, just hang on. Help's coming. You're gonna be alright. Just-"

"Catching Dragon shouldn't be a problem for you," said Amadeus with a wide, proud smile.

"Thanks, Dad," said Tails somewhat gratefully. Then his voice became more worried. "Now c'mon, Dad, you just need to hold on 'til help gets here. Shouldn't be long now." Tails could hear the sirens in the distance, coming closer and closer. Amadeus coughed again and more blood came spilling from his mouth. His breathing was getting shallower by the second.

"Miles, I love you," he said quietly, almost in a whisper. "Tell your mother I love her, too."

"Tell her yourself," said Tails quickly. "You're gonna make it."

"Goodbye, Miles," he said quietly. He shuddered slightly as he struggled to draw one more breath. Tails was racked with silent sobs as he watched the life leave his father with his last breath. He sat back, taking his hands off his father's wound. He reached up to his father's face and closed his father's dead eye. He moved backward slowly until he had his back up against the wall. He tucked his legs up to his chest and sobbed quietly some more as he heard the sounds of sirens arriving outside his house.

* * *

><p>Sonic arrived at the location that Lucy told him to come to to find her in a psychic firefight with Jeremy and Spencer. Lucy was taking cover behind the corner of an alley, glancing around it every few seconds to fire a few lightning bolts down it while ducking back behind the corner to, Sonic assumed, dodge Spencer and Jeremy's unseen, psychic bullets. He stopped behind the other corner of the alley and waved casually to Lucy.<p>

"What's up?" he asked with a smile.

"They've got Tails' mother," said Lucy quickly. "I've been trying to take them down, but they're using her as a meat shield. I can't get a good shot!"

"So, why are you shooting?" asked Sonic with a cocked eyebrow as she glanced around the corner and fired a few more lightning bolts.

"To keep them busy so they can't get away!" she said frustratedly after she got behind the corner again. Sonic was about to reply when he was cut off by a series of loud pops and the sound of the brick wall of Lucy's corner crumbling in several different places.

"What was that?" he asked, slightly startled.

"That," she started before she took a couple more lightning shots around the corner, finishing after she got behind safe cover again with "was enemy fire."

"They can do that?" asked Sonic amazedly.

"Yeah, and then some," she said, pulling her sleeve up to reveal a small cut on her forearm.

"That's it?" asked Sonic with a sly chuckle.

"No, I missed the worst of it," said Lucy shortly. "You got anything to contribute here?" Sonic thought for a moment.

"Yeah, just hold on a minute," he said thoughtfully. Then he ran put toward the street, turning into a half-circle and heading straight for the building at top speed. Then he jumped up and ran up the building and was over the edge of the roof in a flash. He ran down the roof of the building until he was past the spot where Jeremy and Spencer were taking cover. Sonic stopped and looked down as three bright, electrical bolts sped down the alley at a speed that would rival Sonic, impacting with a loud, crackling crash on the ground behind Spencer and Jeremy. The ground started to spark and crackle with electricity as the lightning's energy surged through the puddle on the ground behind Spencer and Jeremy. Lucy was trapping them with the threat of electrocution. Sonic looked down the alley at Lucy and caught her eye momentarily. He gave her a quick sign to tell her to stop firing before she had to duck behind the corner again to dodge more telekinetic projectiles.

Sonic looked down at Spencer and Jeremy. There were both hiding behind dumpsters on either side of the alley. Then Sonic caught sight of an unconscious Rosemary laid up against the alley wall next to Spencer. He stood at the edge of the roof and jumped down, landing lightly behind Spencer, who was nearest to the building he jumped from. Then, with a swift kick, he knocked Spencer into the dumpster. Then he aimed a punch at the back of his head as he recoiled away from the dumpster. Spencer fell to the ground, half conscious, holding his head and hissing through gritted teeth painfully. Sonic quickly grabbed Spencer off the ground and held him in front of him hostage-style as Jeremy spun around and held a finger-gun on them both.

"Drop him, hedgehog," warned Jeremy evilly. "Or I'll send your disembodied head to that little fox of yours."

"Well, first, you'd have to deal with said fox's girlfriend," said Sonic smartly. Then, as if on cue, the dumpster that Jeremy had been hiding behind careened into him on its own, sending him to the ground, in the puddle next to him. Lucy came out from around the corner, hand held out in front of her in a somewhat threatening manner, a manner which was emphasized by the electrical arcs that jumped and sparked in between her fingers.

"Now, give me a good reason not to fry you right now, Jeremy," said Lucy with a malicious smile. Jeremy looked up from the on-all-fours position he was in in the puddle and gave her a smart smirk. Then he threw his hand up at Sonic, Spencer, and the unconscious Rosemary and a large wave of water rose from the puddle he was in and splashed onto the three people behind the dumpster, soaking them all. To Sonic's surprise, Rosemary still wasn't awake.

"How's that for a good reason?" he asked smugly as he stood up, water dripping from the brown fur on his face and paws, clothes absolutely soaked. "They're in a pretty good sized trail of water there. You fry me, they go with." Lucy gave him an angry look and he widened his smile.

"Very smart, my young apprentice," called an amused voice from around the corner at the other end of the alley. Sonic and Lucy whipped their heads toward the source of the voice in fear while Jeremy only widened his evil smile even more. Then, suddenly, Spencer wrenched himself free from Sonic's grasp, giving him a good kick to the stomach in the process. Sonic doubled over and Jeremy raised a finger gun to him while Spencer raised one to Lucy as Dragon appeared from around the corner of the alley, smiling smugly.

"Thank you, Master," said Jeremy sadistically. "Now, what should I do next?"

"You and Spencer take the hostage and leave me to deal with the traitor and the hero," said Dragon calmly. He gestured toward Rosemary's unconscious form and she was lifted into the air, her limp figure suspended in midair like she was a marionette. She hovered above the puddle to Jeremy's side, who, once joined by Spencer, walked down the alley past Dragon, the unconscious Rosemary following the whole way.

"Well, hello again, traitor," said Dragon casually. "Sorry I kidnapped your boyfriend's mother, but it's the only punishment I found to be worthy for him."

"And shooting his father?" asked Lucy angrily. "Y'know, what's stopping me from frying _you_ now?"

"Well, if I don't come back, Spencer and Jeremy will kill her," said Dragon.

"And what are you gonna do to her when you get back?" growled Lucy. "She's as good as dead already, why take you down, too?"

"Because I'm going to give Tails a chance to save her," said Dragon calmly. "But if you kill me, she'll die, too." Lucy lowered her hand to her side and gave Dragon a cold stare.

"Fine," she grumbled angrily. "C'mon, Sonic, let's go."

"What?" asked Sonic in objection. "We're just gonna let him get away?"

"Yeah, we have to," said Lucy coldly as she turned and headed for the alley's exit. "He's got Tails' mother. What are we supposed to do?"

"Well, we-" Sonic stopped short as he tried to think of an argument, but soon gave up with a defeated sigh, hanging his head in surrender. He followed her to the alley's exit.

"Tell Tails we'll be in touch soon!" called Dragon casually. They both turned to look back at the hated dog, only to find that he had vanished.

"Okay, well, we should get back to Tails' place as quickly as possible," sighed Sonic somewhat tiredly. "Man, I don't know how I'm gonna break this to him. Let's just hope that he was able to save his dad. That'll make it a little easier to tell him that we let his mom get kidnapped." He rubbed his face in a stressed manner. "C'mon, hop in." Sonic offered his arms out to Lucy.

"What, you're gonna carry me?" asked Lucy with a cocked eyebrow.

"Yeah," said Sonic. "I said 'as quick as possible'. I'm 'as quick as possible', now hop in."

"Alright," sighed Lucy. She climbed into Sonic's arms somewhat awkwardly and Sonic took off.

* * *

><p>Sonic and Lucy arrived at Tails house to find emergency vehicles parked outside the house, lights flashing all around, press vans behind a police barrier and news choppers overhead. Then Sonic saw something that made his heart stop dead for a second, then almost plummet down through his groin. He saw a full body bag strapped to a bed being rolled into the back of an ambulance.<p>

"Oh no," Sonic whispered in horror. He let Lucy down and quickly ran into the house to find Tails. After he breached the plane of the house, he stopped dead. The rest of the journey was a slow, bone-chilling walk to the dining room, where Sonic found Tails sitting up against the inner wall of the room, almost totally catatonic, staring out the window across the room, unmoving, unfocussed.

Sonic took one step into the room and Tails' gaze whipped straight to him. He was wearing a desperate, expectant look. Sonic could practically hear his eyes pleading Sonic for the good news that they had rescued his mother. The good news that he couldn't bring. Sonic didn't know how to respond. He just stood there, nearly dumbstruck at horrifying sight of the devastated fox, hands, chest, and shins covered in his deceased father's dried blood.

Finally, After what felt like hours, but was really only one second, Sonic just shook his head slowly, hanging his head in shame. When he looked up, he saw Tails with his face in his hands, body racking with silent sobs. Sonic walked to his side, sitting beside him and putting his arm around his little brother's shoulder, hugging the sobbing fox to his chest tightly. After a few minutes, Lucy walked in and walked to Tails other side, sitting down beside him and putting her arm around his shoulders next to Sonic's arm. Tails stopped sobbing and looked up slowly. He looked from Sonic to Lucy silently, then back to Sonic. Sonic thought that he looked like he was kind of lost.

"I- I'm so sorry, Tails," whispered Sonic sympathetically. "I- I... I..." He had no idea what to say. He just stared back at Tails, mouth open slightly as he tried to think of something to say to make the fox feel better, but nothing came to mind.

"Tails, Dragon was in on it," Lucy finally broke the silence. "That could be a good thing. He'll probably make it easy for you to get your mom back. He thinks we're still working for him. He did say he was gonna give you a chance to save her." Tails looked around at her while she spoke.

"Maybe," he whispered with a slightly hoarse voice, wiping more tears from his eyes.

"He said he'd be in touch with you soon," said Sonic quietly. Then, as if on cue, a phone rang. Sonic pulled Tails' phone out of his shoe and handed it to Tails.

"It's Dragon," said Tails quietly as he read the caller ID. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and answered the phone, putting it to his ear.

"He- Hello?" he stammered quietly into the phone.

"Y'know, you should really learn to hang up your phone before you try to turn an enemy operative into a triple agent," said Dragon in a maliciously casual tone. Tails heart skipped a couple beats when he heard this.

"What are yo- What are you talking about?" The stammering reply was more nervous than the greeting he had given.

"Don't play dumb, Miles Prower, it's beneath you," said Dragon somewhat frustratedly. "I heard everything. I heard you convince Lucy to turn on me. I heard you sweet-talk her into cheap betrayal with a 'normal life'."

"Okay, so we betrayed you," said Tails, now becoming a little angry. "Why kill my dad? Why go for my parents? This had nothing to do with them. Why not just kill me? I betray you, you kill me. Simple."

"Oh, believe me, that thought crossed my mind," said Dragon. "Albeit, for a little less than a nanosecond, but that was my first instinct. But then another thought crossed my mind. Death is too nice a punishment for you."

"Why is that?" asked Tails quickly.

"Because you turned Lucy against me, too," explained Dragon. "If it was just you, you'd be dead by now. But you turned her against me, so I had to make things a little harsher for you. So I thought about the target. I thought about what I could do to you to make you WISH that I had only killed you. So I thought about your past. You grew up most of your life without your parents. A whole decade essentially spent as an orphan. I thought that they were easily some of the most precious things to you in your life. _Ideal_ first targets."

"Okay, then," growled Tails. "Two things. Firstly, you should know that you just made the biggest mistake of your life. I am going to find you and end you. Even if it kills me, I don't care. _You_. _Will_. _Die_."

"Ooh, that's the kind of response I was looking for," said Dragon. "So, we'll be in touch soon so that I could tell you how to save your poor, dear mother."

"Wait, there's another thing," said Tails angrily. "One thing I need to know. Why do you care so much that I turned Lucy against you?" The line was silent for a moment. "What, is it because she was your 'star student'? Was she like your plaything or something? Why do you care so much about her?"

"Ooh, she hasn't told you yet, has she?" asked Dragon with an amused chuckle. "Oh, that's just like her. She has never been very proud of me. That's sorta understandable, though."

"What are you talking about?" growled Tails furiously.

"Oh, Tails," said Dragon with a sadistic chuckle. "Lucy's my daughter."

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: WHOA! Nice cliffhanger, right? Anyway, sorry to any Amadeus fans out there. I'm a fan of him too, but it just felt right to kill him off. So will Tails be able to save his mother, or will Dragon totally orphan him? Is Lucy really Dragon's daughter, or is he just messing with Tails' head? Find out next time. But until then, I'll remind you of the drill. Review, favorite, tell friends, alert, and never date the Abominable Snowman's sister. Trust me, just don't. Anyway, seeya!<br>**


	10. Orphan

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Finally! Chapter 10 is here! It feels like it took way too long to write this, but i was blocked for a lot of it. But I think I pulled it off pretty well. I hope you think the same. So, read and enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Shadow the Hedgehog sat down at his desk in his dark office. He glanced at the clock on his computer. Eight o' clock. He looked around the office and thought about how he had gone from being G.U.N.'s top agent to the glorified chief of police of Station Square. It was true that he was still G.U.N.'s top agent. It wasn't like he had to oversee the small-time crime like the actual police did, but he had to do something since the war with Robotnik was over and there were no more jobs anymore for 'G.U.N.'s top agent'. But all that was the 'glorified' part of the job. Essentially he was the director of the Mobian equivalent of the FBI, a comparison he had made when he had done some ancient history research because he had gotten bored a couple years back one time when the office was particularly quiet. He sat back and remembered when field work was a regular thing for him, back when Robotnik was still at large and he was working guerrilla espionage jobs for G.U.N. against the aspiring world dictator with Rouge the Bat. He remembered how Rouge had convinced him to cut, as she called it, 'the dark and mopey attitude' and live a little. He remembered how he had decided to listen to her one night and go out to a nightclub with her. Said nightclub-visit resulted in him drinking too much and waking up in a bed in a hotel he had never heard of, next to Rouge, with a hangover and no recollection of what had happened the night before.<p>

He remembered how, shortly after that, Rouge and he had started to go out together, how he had decided to take a chance and actually decided to commit to a relationship with her, how he thought that he had actually fallen for her, how he felt for her. Then he remembered the unexpected goodbye she had made when they had been told they were being made the directors of a new investigation division that was being created when Robotnik had been driven underground. He remembered how Rouge had dropped him like a sack of potatoes and told him that she was a thief and a con artist at heart and that she couldn't last a day in what was essentially a law enforcement job. He remembered how the day she left him high and dry was the day that he had decided that he wanted no part in the heart wrenching aspect of life that normal people called romance.

His train of thought was interrupted by the ringing of his desk phone.

"Oh, thank God," he whispered gratefully to himself as he leaned over and took the phone from its cradle. He had recently been given an abnormal amount of field work due to the fact that Dragon had miraculously come back from the dead. Office work got boring fast and there weren't very many field jobs that actually needed him, leaving him stuck behind a desk most of the day. He put the phone to his ear and greeted the caller on the other line. He listened for a minute as the caller told him about a shooting that had been called in. The matter had been bounced up to him because, upon first investigation of the shooting, the forensics sweep had yielded no recovered bullets. The room was shot up like a used target sheet, but there were no rounds anywhere to be found.

"Yeah, that's Dragon," said Shadow with a sigh. "Where is it I'm going to exactly?"

"Uh... The home of one General Amadeus Prower," said the man on the other line.

"Wait, was anyone killed in the shooting?" asked Shadow concernedly.

"Yes, I believe the general himself was shot and killed," said the man with a sigh. "Too bad, really. He was a good man." Shadow hung up before he could say another word. He picked up the jacket that was sitting on the coat hook by his door as he left the room.

* * *

><p>Tails felt like he had just been thrown in front of a bus and had miraculously survived with no permanent damage. But surviving didn't lessen the pain. He had just witnessed the violent murder of his father, the kidnapping of his mother, and had just been told that his girlfriend that he had put all his trust into had been lying to him from day one about being the daughter of the psychic psycho-dog that had murdered his father, kidnapped his mother, and was his in-general arch nemesis.<p>

At first he wished that he could leave and go home. Then he remembered that he already was home. He guessed that Sonic's apartment was his new home now, but for how long? If Sonic was having a kid, they'd need that second room and he'd have to move out. He knew he was never coming back to this house to live. He knew that his mother was as good as dead now that Dragon had her. But that wasn't going to stop him from running through hell and back to at least try and save her.

Tails had tried to leave, but the police stopped him. They had told him that another investigator had been called in and that they needed to stay so he could question them. He watched as Sonic paced the length of the room impatiently while Lucy was leaned up against the wall by the corner she had hidden in for cover when Dragon shot up the room about an hour earlier. Tails was sitting in the exact same place he had backed up into after he had failed to save his father.

"Man, when is this agent gonna get here?" growled Sonic frustratedly. "I've gotta get in touch with Sally."

"Don't worry, Sonic," called a voice from somewhere outside the room. Everyone recognized the voice immediately. Shadow walked into the room and sat down in one of the chairs that had been left standing after the home invasion. "I'll have you all back in Mobotropolis in no time. Just a few questions about what happened here."

"So ask them," said Sonic impatiently.

"First, I need to make sure I have all the facts straight," said Shadow calmly. "Okay, so here's the story I heard. The Prowers, plus one, all sit down to a nice dinner. Said dinner is rudely interrupted by a psychic home invasion staged by Dragon that results in the kidnapping of a retired member of the now-dismantled Acorn Council and the murder of a General in the Acorn Military. That about it?"

"Yes, I told that to these stooges here already," said Sonic, pointing out the door to indicate the cops that were wrapping up the forensic investigation of the crime scene. "Now I need to get home quick, Shadow. Tails, here, needs to get some rest and I have something very important to discuss with my wife. Then we have to wait for Dragon to give us a call and tell us how to get Tails' mother back."

"Okay, I'll get you home as soon as possible, Sonic," said Shadow. "I'm also gonna have to come with you to be there when Dragon calls to talk to Tails."

"That's fine," said Sonic dismissively. "Now what do you need to know?"

"Firstly, when is Dragon going to call?" asked Shadow.

"He told me that he'd call sometime tomorrow morning," said Tails quietly. "Said it just before he hung up."

"Okay, I understand that you're still undercover as his inside man," said Shadow. "Do you know if that cover is still intact?"

"Nope, I accidentally hit it with a baseball bat," sighed Tails quietly. "That's why he killed my father and that's why he kidnapped my mother. It was to punish me. Something about taking the most precious things in my life from me."

"Let me ask the questions first, Tails," said Shadow casually. "You're getting way ahead of me." He finished writing everything Tails had told him on a notepad, then looked back at the fox on the ground. "So, why did he go for your parents instead of you?"

"I don't know," Tails lied plainly.

"Well, he didn't have any need for you, did he?" asked Shadow. "He knew that you had betrayed him, why punish you instead of kill you?"

"It's his way of making me wish he killed me," said Tails in an exhausted tone. "He's just being an evil sadist."

"Okay," said Shadow calmly as he wrote some more on his notepad. "Anyway, that's it for now. You're all free to go. I'll be in touch with Tails soon to get an explanation about how this whole psychic business works. I don't think he's in any state right now to explain it to me tonight. Anyway, I'll see you all later." He got up from the chair and headed for the door, but stopped short as he entered the doorway. He turned around and looked down at Tails with a sympathetic expression. "By the way, Tails, I'm truly sorry." His tone was sincere and full of sympathy. He turned back to the doorway and left the room without another word. Sonic followed him closely, along with Lucy. Tails was the last to leave, getting up and sauntering out of the room slowly, expressionless as he left.

Lucy and Sonic were waiting for him outside the house. There were emergency vehicles everywhere, all with flashing lights of all kinds. They were all almost deafened by the roar of questions made the press and onlookers behind the police barricades.

"I'll see you two at the apartment," Sonic said plainly to the two foxes. He made to run off, but Tails stopped him.

"Actually, Sonic, do you think you could take Lucy with you?" he asked quietly. "I think I need some time alone."

"Okay, sure," said Sonic quietly with a small nod.

"Thanks," said Tails gratefully. Then he started spinning his tails and choppered into the air, taking off into the dense group of buildings that was the urban area of Station Square.

"Hey, Sonic," said Lucy quietly. "I know you wanna get home to Sally quickly, but could you take me and follow Tails? There's something that I need to tell him."

"What do you need to tell him?" asked Sonic curiously.

"Well, I guess you need to know, too," sighed Lucy uncomfortably. "Just brace yourself. It's kinda big. And a little bad."

"C'mon, how bad could it be?" asked Sonic.

"Um..." she started nervously, looking down at her shoes and folding her arms in front of her."I'm Dragon's daughter." She waited for the angry exclamation that she had been expecting, but when none came, she looked back up to see Sonic staring at her with a slight wide-eyed look, but other than that, there wasn't any conveyance of shock on his face.

"Okay, I was wrong," said Sonic quietly. "That's pretty bad."

"Look, Sonic, I was gonna tell you guys," said Lucy quickly. "I honestly was. I was planning on doing it after Tails and I got back from the dinner tonight. But obviously those plans were sorta destroyed by a home invasion during the dinner."

"Does Elias know?" asked Sonic concernedly.

"I told him today," said Lucy. "He's the one who told me I should tell you all as soon as possible."

"Alright, that's good, I guess," said Sonic with a sigh. He looked at Lucy as he thought for a moment. Finally, he gave her a small nod and held his arms out. "Fine. Do you want him know we're following him?"

"If you can," said Lucy with a playful smile as she climbed into Sonic's arms.

"Oh, ye of little faith," said Sonic with a chuckle. Then he held her tightly to his chest as he took off at the police barricades, jumping into the air and clearing the crowd of press reporters and onlookers, landing gracefully and running down the road in the direction that Tails had taken off in.

* * *

><p>Tails sat alone on the edge of the tallest skyscraper in the city. He looked out into the dark horizon in front of him, the flat surface of the Station Square skyline stretched out in front of him like a field of uneven platforms and spires. He looked down onto the street below, nighttime traffic moving around in the densest part of the urban jungle, the headlights of the cars on the ground moving like the flow of a river. He looked up at the sky. Looked at the bright moon in the sky, about half full right now, not very bright. He felt the cold wind against his fur. It felt even more chilling because the blood on his fur was still somewhat moist. But the cold didn't bother him. He already felt cold. How was he supposed to feel, warm? He had just watched his father die in front of him as a result of his own failure. Whether it was his failure to hang up the phone the night before or his failure to act efficiently enough when it came to keeping his father alive, or both, for that matter, he hadn't decided yet, but he definitely knew that it was his fault that his father had died. He didn't care what the others said about it, what his father said about this being Dragon's fault, he knew that it was his fault. He had had his chance. He led everyone to the hideout, he had them all there and ready to fight. If he had wanted, they could have taken everyone down there, but he <em>had<em> to stay with Lucy and he _had_ to learn more about his powers. Now his father was dead and his mother was going to be joining him soon and he knew that he couldn't do anything about it.

No, Tails didn't have anything in him but cold feelings right now. The cold feeling of grief for his parents weighed down on him like a semi-truck, the cold regret for having chosen to get involved in any of this only added a small car to the semi. But there was one more chilling feeling that ran through his blood. Ice cold rage. Rage that drove him, kept him running under all the weight he felt, directing him at only one goal. Finding Dragon and making sure that the last few minutes of his life are the most agonizing and miserable moments he's ever experienced.

He looked down at his side at the can of soda that he had acquired from a vending machine on his way here. He picked up the can of soda and took a sip of it. He swished the drink around inside his mouth for a moment before swallowing it. Then he dropped the soda into the air, holding it in midair with his mind, spinning it around a couple times.

"Pfft," he said contemptuously as he watched the can with a cold stare. "Telekinesis." Where had telekinesis gotten him so far? It had gotten him in the leagues of a serial killer, in a relationship with a lying girlfriend, and, with his luck, it was ramming him into the church where his parents' double funeral service was going to be held. Tails watched as the can floated farther and farther out over open space. Then a lightning bolt surged out from somewhere behind him and incinerated the can before his eyes, reducing it to molten slag.

"Did I startle you?" asked Lucy as she sat down next to Tails on the edge of the building.

"No," said Tails plainly, looking back down at the traffic below. "I've known you were there the whole time." They were both silent for a moment before Tails spoke up again. "Lucy?"

"Yeah?" she said quietly. He looked up at her and locked eyes with her, giving her a stare that told her exactly how tired he was right now, what he was feeling right now.

"That story that you told at dinner," he started quietly. Then he looked back out at the dark sky, not really focusing on anything. "How much of it was actually true?"

"He told you, didn't he?" she asked, looking away shamefully. They were both silent again for a few moments.

"Just explain everything to me," said Tails quietly, almost sadly. "I'm not gonna get angry, I'm not gonna accuse, I'm leaving that all for tomorrow after I've slept on everything that's happened. Right now, I just want to know the truth."

"Alright," sighed Lucy as she thought about what to start at. "I was gonna tell you after the dinner tonight. I just stretched the truth a little when I told that story." She looked at Tails and saw the exhausted expression on his face. She didn't even know if he was listening or not. "Look, biologically, Dragon is my father, but he's not the man I grew up knowing as my father. When I was about eleven, something happened. I don't know if he just snapped or if he experienced something traumatic or what, but, one day, he just changed. He turned into a completely different person. He was the one who murdered my mother. He ran off and left me in an orphanage. Then, four years later, he comes back and tells me he knows why I've had lightning coming from my hands all my life and tells me he knows how to control it. The only reason I went with him was out of the desperate need to get away from that place and for a chance at normalcy. And I got both. Kinda." She stared at him as he watched the traffic below, completely motionless and silent.

"Thanks, Lucy," said Tails finally, in almost a whisper. He looked up at her and she saw sincere gratitude in his eyes. Then he cocked his head up and inhaled sharply. "Sonic, you back there?" The shout echoed out around them loudly.

"Yeah," replied Sonic's voice from somewhere behind them.

"Can you take Lucy back to the apartment _now_?" asked Tails loudly.

"Sure," said Sonic shortly.

"Cool, I'll see you there," said Tails. Then, before anyone could say another word, Tails leaned forward and dropped off the edge of the skyscraper. He felt the air rushing past him as the ground came closer and closer, faster and faster. Finally, Tails broke the fall with his tails, spinning them quickly, feeling the rush towards the ground slow rapidly.

* * *

><p>Tails wasn't two steps into the apartment before he was rushed by a blur of brown fur and light blue leather as Sally grabbed him in a bear hug and held him tight.<p>

"Hi, Sally," Tails choked out as he tried to gasp for air in the constricting hug.

"Oh, Tails, I'm so sorry," she said sympathetically. "It was all on the news." She pulled back and looked him over. "I can't believe he killed your father. Do you know if your mother's alright?"

"For now, she is," he replied quietly. "But, knowing Dragon, she's not gonna be for long."

"What's he gonna do?" asked Sally with a small gasp.

"He said that he's gonna let me try and save her," said Tails. "But there's probably gonna be some kinda catch to that."

"Well, we'll talk about that later," said Sally quietly. "How are you doing, though?

"I don't know, Sal," said Tails quietly. "I just think I need to lie down for now. One thing I do know is that I'm exhausted right now."

"Alright, well, you just tell me if you need anything," said Sally quietly. She watched as he sauntered slowly towards the guest room, head hanging down as he walked. Sally walked to the kitchen and retrieved a can of soda from the fridge. As she opened it, she heard the door open and shut again, followed by the sound of Sonic's voice.

"Did we beat him here?" she heard him ask quietly. "Sally?" She walked back into the living room and put her arms around Sonic tightly. "You heard?"

"Yeah," whispered Sally quietly. "It was on the news."

"He here?" asked Sonic as she let go of him.

"He's in bed," said Sally. "I think he just wants to be alone."

"Yeah," said Sonic quietly. "He needs some rest. I'll just go in and check on him every now and then, but let's just leave him be. He's gonna have a long day tomorrow."

"Is that when Dragon's gonna call?" asked Sally.

"Yeah," said Sonic. He started to head for the love seat as Lucy made her way to the couch, but he stopped and turned back to Sally as she headed into the kitchen. He followed her in and found her leaning on the table, sipping her soda quietly. "Did you hear from the doctor?"

"Yeah," she said quietly, looking down at her shoes.

"And?" asked Sonic curiously, somewhat anxious from the suspense he had been in all night.

"Well," she started, looking up at him with a blank expression. "There's a reason I'm not drinking something stronger than a diet soda." She gave a small smile and chuckled lightly.

"Really?" he whispered in shock. He was absolutely beaming. He felt like he could run to the moon. He walked to Sally quickly and put his arms around her tightly. "Oh my god. Tha- That's wonderful!"

"It is," said Sally happily.

"Finally, some good news tonight," he said relievedly. "The last two and a half hours have been an emotional roller-coaster"

"Yeah," said Sally. Then she pulled away from him quickly. "Oh, I've gotta tell Bunnie."

"You go do that," said Sonic warmly. "I'm just gonna go sit down."

"Right," said Sally as she grabbed the phone off its cradle and started dialing. Sonic left the room and headed for the couch, plopping down on it beside Lucy.

"So, when are you gonna tell Sally?" he asked her quietly. She looked up at him with a tired expression.

"I don't know," said Lucy. "I might as well tell everyone, so I guess I'll just wait until everyone's here."

"Okay," said Sonic calmly. "Sounds like a great early morning announcement." Lucy chuckled softly.

"Yeah, the perfect start to the day," she said sarcastically. Then she decided to head for a different topic of conversation. "So, what are you so happy about?"

"Do I look happy?" asked Sonic confusedly.

"Well, no, but I'm a telepath," said Lucy with a shrug. "I'm not reading your mind, but it's hard to ignore the basic emotional brainwaves, and right now, you are basically having a party in your head that wasn't there when we got here, so what's the story?" He gave her a small smile as he leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees and cradling his head in his hands.

"Sally's pregnant," he said in somewhat of a happy daze. He looked back up at Lucy with an ecstatic smile to find her wearing a shocked, jaw-dropped expression.

"No way," she whispered, jaw-drop turning into a smile.

"Yeah," said Sonic happily.

"That's great," said Lucy quietly in a happy tone. "It's a nice contrast to what happened tonight."

"Yeah," said Sonic with a chuckle. "I'm gonna tell Tails later. He doesn't need to be woken up right now."

"Yeah," agreed Lucy with a sigh. "Well, congratulations, Sonic. I'm really happy for you and Sally."

"Thanks," said Sonic gratefully. He sat back and put his feet up on the coffee table. "Hey, Lucy, could you, uh..." He pointed to the holo-generator and looked at her with a sheepish smile. She smiled back and flicked her hand at the holo-generator and it flicked on, producing a holographic television screen. "Thanks."

* * *

><p>Sally opened the front door to find Bunnie and Antoine on the other side.<p>

"Oh, Bunnie, thanks for coming," said Sally, hugging her as she came in. "I'm sorry for getting you to come at such a late hour, but I need someone here. I'm pretty sure that I'm not gonna sleep tonight, what with everything going on and I _will_ go crazy if I try to stay distracted by the HV, but I think that's exactly what Sonic's trying to do." She led her into the kitchen and sat down with her. Antoine had sat down in the living room to watch holo-vision.

"Oh, it's no problem, Sally-girl," said Bunnie with a dismissive wave. "Ah wouldn't have gotten any sleep either. Ah would have been up with Antoine, who's taking the General's death really hard. They were good friends. He's been real jumpy ever since he saw the news report. Ah think it kinda scared him."

"Oh, that's not good," said Sally with a sigh.

"Yeah," said Bunnie. "So, you need to catch me up on this Tails-business. One minute he's kidnapped, next he's a traitor, and now Sugah-Twan tells me he was a double agent or somethin'."

"Oh, long story," said Sally. "That's the really short version of it."

"So, tell me the rest," said Bunnie. "I need some distraction from tonight's craziness."

"Me too," agreed Sally as she got up and walked to the fridge. She grabbed a can of soda for herself and Bunnie and sat down. She recounted the story that Tails had told her two days before.

"Wow, that's insane," Bunnie remarked after Sally had finished.

"Yeah, it's been so crazy," said Sally. "I mean, Amadeus was nearly catatonic when Tails went undercover. Then Sonic told him that Tails didn't actually betray us and he was worried out of his mind for the last month. And Rosemary was bedridden from the shock and stress of thinking that he _had_ betrayed us. Now he's back and the General's dead and, if we don't play our cards right, she'll be dead to." She sighed heavily. "I just can't wait until this whole mess is over with and I can raise a kid in peace."

"Kid?" asked Bunnie in surprise with a cocked eyebrow.

"Oh, sorry, I was getting to that," said Sally quickly. "I was trying to tell the story in chronological order so we could save the pregnancy discussion for the end." Bunnie was absolutely speechless. "So, yeah, you're totally caught up now."

"No way," whispered Bunnie as she tried to gather herself up. "You're pregnant?"

"Yeah," said Sally excitedly.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" exclaimed Bunnie.

* * *

><p>Tails woke up feeling like he had just been trampled by a hoard of elephants. He couldn't remember why he felt that way, though. All he remembered was that he had come back from dinner with his parents.<p>

"My parents..." he said to himself quietly. Then it hit him. He remembered watching his father die and he remembered what he could about the home invasion that took his mother, but he had been incapacitated for most of it.

He stood up from the bed and walked to the door. He was still in somewhat of a daze as he walked. He walked out into the living room and found Sonic, Lucy, and Antoine watching the HV. Sonic turned to look at him when he came out. Lucy's gaze followed his shortly, but Antoine stayed focused on the holographic screen.

"Tails, buddy, how ya doing?" asked Sonic curiously. Tails walked around the couch and plopped down in between Lucy and Sonic. Lucy gave him a small hug and Sonic thumped him softly on the shoulder. Tails sighed and looked up at the HV.

"I'm doing better," he said quietly. "I'm just..." He sat back between his two friends and rubbed his face out of fatigue. Then he looked up at Sonic again. "What's Antoine doing here?"

"Bunnie brought him over," said Sonic shortly. "He hasn't been himself since he saw that news report. I think your dad's death sorta scared him. They were friends."

"Oh," said Tails quietly. "So, any _good_ news that I should know."

"Yeah," said Sonic somewhat happily. He looked sideways at Tails with a happy smile. "You remember what I told you earlier in the simulator room?" Tails smiled widely.

"Really?" he asked excitedly. "Oh, my god, that's fantastic, Sonic. You're gonna be a great father."

"Thanks, Tails," said Sonic gratefully. "So, how are you feeling? You need more sleep, or...?"

"I don't know," said Tails quietly. "Right now, I just need to think about something else."

"Okay," said Sonic. "Well, the HV's on, that good enough?"

"Yeah," said Tails.

"Alright, I'll get some sodas," said Sonic. "Lucy, you want one?"

"Sure," said Lucy plainly. Sonic nodded and got up. Lucy looked sideways at Tails. "Hey, about earlier, Tails... Um..."

"It's fine," Tails said quickly. "Look, I don't care, so long as that's the end of the big secrets. But you're gonna have to tell the others."

"I was planning on it," said Lucy quietly.

"Okay, here you are," said Sonic as he handed them each a soda and sat down beside Tails. They both thanked him as they opened the cans and each took a sip.

* * *

><p>Tails woke up to the vibrating and loud ringing of his cell phone in his pocket. He sat up and found himself on the couch in Sonic's living room. He had been lying next to Lucy on the couch. He looked around and saw Sally and Sonic on the love-seat and Bunnie and Antoine lying next to each other on the lounge chair. Tails looked at the clock on the holographic screen that hadn't been turned off from the night before. Six-thirty.<p>

"Whoa!" said Tails quietly in surprise as his phone started ringing and vibrating in his pocket again. He pulled it out and answered it. "He-" He stopped for a moment while he yawned. "-Llo?"

"Well, it's clear you're not awake enough to play the game I have for you right now," said Dragon's malicious voice over the phone. "I'll call back in two hours. Be ready to play, or mommy's going to be very disappointed." He hung up before Tails could say a word. Tails sighed exhaustedly. He couldn't even remember what had happened the night before after he had taken the soda from Sonic.

"Hey, Lucy," said Tails quietly as he nudged her softly. She woke up and looked up at him confusedly.

"What is it?" she asked frustratedly with a yawn, turning onto her other side and laying her head down.

"Dragon called," said Tails quietly. Lucy shot upright and gave him an alarmed look.

"What'd he say?" she asked quickly.

"He said he'd call back in two hours," said Tails.

"Okay, so we just have to wait," said Lucy.

"Yeah," replied Tails shortly. He looked around the room. "Why don't we wake everyone up?"

"Alright," said Lucy with a shrug. She walked over to Antoine and Bunnie while Tails walked over to the love-seat.

"Hey, Sonic," said Tails quietly, nudging Sonic awake. "C'mon, get up. We got two hours before Dragon calls." Sonic stirred and looked up at Tails.

"How do you know that?" he asked with a yawn.

"Dragon just called me," explained Tails with a shrug. Sonic raised his eyebrows concernedly. "Told me I had two hours before he calls again."

"Right," said Sonic. He looked at Sally, who was lying next to him on his arm. He gently shook her. "Hey, Sal, c'mon, big rescue alert. We've got two hours."

"Who told you that?" she asked quietly.

"Dragon called," explained Tails. "Said we had two hours."

"Okay, so what do we do?" asked Sonic.

"Well, we should probably start with breakfast," said Sally as she got up from the couch. "Pancakes, anyone?"

"Oh! Good idea," said Sonic with a smile.

"Yeah, great idea-" Bunnie started, stopping to yawn. "-Sally-girl."

"Okay, gimme about twenty minutes," said Sally as she walked into the kitchen.

"Good, just make some for Shadow, too," Sonic called after her.

"Shadow?" asked everyone in the room in unison. Sally stopped and looked at him from the doorway to the kitchen with a cocked eyebrow.

"Yeah, Shadow," said Sonic, taking out his phone and searching through his contacts list. He pressed a button and put the phone to his ear. He waited for a second as the other line rang. Finally, he heard someone pick up on the other line. "Hey, Shadz, I was just thinking that you should be over here to help with the whole Dragon situation." He stopped to listen for a moment. "Yeah, I was just thinking we could use some help. Make a snide comment and you're out of luck, though." He listened for a moment again. "Okay, thanks. See ya soon."He hung up the phone and put it on the coffee table.

"Shadow?" asked Tails confusedly.

"Look, I just want to be on the safe side here," explained Sonic. "Dragon's got your mother, Tails. I want to have all the help we can get right now. Failure with this one is _not an option_. And besides, we did tell him that he could be here to help, anyway."

"Thanks, Sonic," said Tails gratefully.

"No problem," said Sonic with a shrug. Tails sat down by him and put his feet up on the coffee table, focusing on the HV. Twenty minutes later, everyone was sitting down with a plate of pancakes.

"Okay, so where do we start with preparation?" asked Sally, taking a bite of syrup-covered pancakes.

"I don't know," said Tails through a mouthful of pancakes. "I have no idea what Dragon's planning on doing. I don't even know what to plan for."

"Well, what do we think that he's gonna do?" asked Sally.

"That's the thing," said Lucy as she cut a piece of pancake. "He's totally insane! There is _no_ way to tell what sadistic, psychotic idea his brain is gonna cook up. And now that he's got a purpose for coming up with said plans, there's no telling what he could think up. It's probably stuff normal people could never imagine. And then this is just the beginning of it, too."

"Wait, why does he have such a special vendetta against Tails?" asked Sally with a cocked eyebrow. "Is he really that hung up about a simple betrayal?"

"Well, that's a good segue to several different orders of business," said Lucy somewhat uncomfortably. She put her pancakes down on the table and sighed heavily. "Okay, I've got some big news that is probably going to be a bit of a shock to everyone-"

"-CONTROL!" There was a loud bang and a bright flash as Shadow appeared behind the couch. "Hello, everyone. Sorry for dropping in like that. I got held up at work."

"Hello, Shadow," greeted Sally. "There are some pancakes in the kitchen for you."

"Oh, thanks," said Shadow as he walked into the kitchen.

"So, Lucy, you were saying you had big news?" asked Sally curiously.

"Yeah," sighed Lucy. She took a minute to gather herself before continuing. Finally, she cleared her throat and inhaled nervously. "Dragon has it out for Tails because he turned me against him and he cares about me so much because I'm his daughter." The entire room went silent as everyone's gaze was directed at Lucy, who shrunk back into the couch uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry, did I hear that right?" called Shadow's voice from the kitchen, breaking the uncomfortable silence momentarily. He walked out into the living room, still wearing a confused expression.

"Yes," answered Tails plainly, casually taking another bite of pancakes, acting as if he hadn't heard it at all. "You heard right. Lucy's Dragon's daughter."

"But you're a fox," said Shadow.

"So was my mother," retorted Lucy acidly.

"So, why didn't you tell us this sooner?" asked Sally.

"Well, I was kinda embarrassed about it," said Lucy, ears drooping down shamefully. "I mean, I didn't know how you guys would react to it, so I just kept it a secret."

"Does my brother know?" asked Sally quickly.

"Yeah, I told him about it yesterday," said Lucy with a calm sigh. "I knew he'd find out, so I didn't want it to look like I was keeping secrets that could make me look like a traitor. He's the one who urged me to tell you guys for the same reason. I was planning on telling you all last night after the dinner, but, obviously, complications arose." She looked around the room at everyone. They all wore blank expressions as they tried to absorb the news that had just been given to them, with the exception of Sonic and Tails. Sonic watched everyone the same way Lucy did: a curious, slightly nervous expression as he waited for a reaction from someone in the room. Tails was doing the same, but he was better at hiding it, mostly acting like he was focusing on his pancakes, but frequently and subtly flicking his gaze up to see if anyone's face had changed.

"Okay," said Sally shortly as she went back to her pancakes, breaking the awkward silence that had somehow managed to set in again. "I'm fine as long as you're still on our side, but you're not hiding anything else that big, are you?" Lucy shook her head. "Good." She looked up at everyone else. "You guys are good with it, too, right?" Bunnie, Antoine, and Shadow nodded slowly and Bunnie and Antoine went back to their breakfast while Shadow went to go retrieve his from the kitchen. Sally looked sideways at Sonic. "You already knew, didn't you?" Sonic froze with a piece of syrup-covered pancake halfway into his mouth. He slowly took the bite and nodded quickly.

"Yeah, I did," he finally said after he swallowed. "I didn't think it was any of my business to share with everyone. I thought that she should share it with everyone when she chose to." Sally nodded slowly in approval and went back to her pancakes.

"So, how do we plan against something we don't even know about yet?" asked Sally.

"You get an expert on the subject," said Nate as he walked in the front door.

"Nate, what are you doing here?" asked Sonic slowly as Nate walked over to the back of the couch.

"Well, I came to give my condolences to Tails, here," he said plainly as he ruffled the fur on the top of Tails head. "Ow!" He quickly withdrew his hand and winced out of pain. Tails had decided to send a static shock from his scalp into Nate's hand.

"Thanks, Nate," said Tails quietly.

"I also came to offer any help I could with getting his mother back," continued Nate as he sucked on the stinging burn on his finger. "But first I'd like some pancakes." He turned around and started for the kitchen, stopping when he met Shadow, who was coming out if the kitchen holding a plate of pancakes. Nate took the plate out of Shadow's hands quickly and shook Shadow's hand. "Thanks, Shadow." Shadow stared, dumbfounded, as Nate walked quickly over to the couch and sat next Tails. Shadow's dumbfounded expression quickly turned into an angry one as he growled to himself out of frustration and went back into the kitchen, deciding that getting his pancake back from Nate wasn't worth the effort.

"Well, that's what we're trying to plan for," said Sally casually. "Know any experts on that sorta thing?"

"Plenty, but Dragon's a special case," said Nate with a shrug. "Sadly, no experts on him have ever existed."

"So, we're stuck with nothing," said Sonic sarcastically.

"Yep," replied Nate. Shadow came out of the kitchen with a second plate of pancakes in his hand and sat down cross-legged in front of the fireplace.

"That's comforting," murmured Shadow, taking his turn to be sarcastic. For the next half hour, everyone sat back and stayed mostly quiet, with the exception of Sonic and Tails, who spent the time bouncing ideas of what Dragon could be planning off each other. The room was silent again after they got up and went into the kitchen to get something to drink. Then Antoine got up from his seat next to Bunnie and walked over to the couch, sitting down next to Lucy.

"I suppose you think I'm even less trustworthy now that you know he's my father," said Lucy before he could say a word.

"Well, I don't see why you should expect any different of me," replied Antoine quietly. "'Ow am I supposed to know zat you are not playing 'daddy's little girl' 'ere? 'Ow do I know zat you are not just a really good actor?" Lucy looked at him with a grave expression.

"Dragon killed my mother in cold blood," she said quietly. "He dumped me in an orphanage and left me alone. Then he came back and expected everything to be alright simply because he had some answers to the problems I had as a kid. The only reason I went with him is because it was the only place I could go." Antoine looked away after she finished.

"I'm sorry," said Antoine sympathetically. "But just because you give me a sad story about your past and why you did what you did wiz Dragon does not mean zat I am going to start trusting you all of ze sudden."

"I don't want trust," said Lucy shortly. "I just want to get along with everyone. I don't want to deal with any kind of unprovoked aggression, passive or active. How about we just agree to be casual friends; we don't talk much, we only work together when we have to, we hang out with the same people, but we don't butt heads with each other over nothing. Don't start giving me crap unless I deserve it." Antoine looked at his boots while he thought the idea over.

"Zat seems agreeable," he said finally, cracking a small smile, holding out his hand. She took it and shook it slightly, smiling back.

"Good," said Lucy quietly. She laid her head back as he got up and walked back to Bunnie. Tails came back a few seconds later and sat next to her, putting his arm around her and hugging her closer to him. She laid her head on his chest as she thought silently, preparing herself mentally for anything that could happen later on in the day.

* * *

><p>The entire room went silent when Tails' phone started to ring loudly. He took it out and answered it, putting it on speaker.<p>

"Hello?" he said calmly as he put the phone on the coffee table.

"You awake now?" asked Dragon's malicious voice. "Good. Now, it's time to start paying for your mistakes, Miles."

"Where's my mother?" demanded Tails.

"So quick to get right to the point," observed Dragon casually. "No, I want to explain the entire situation before I give you the whereabouts of your mother."

"Fine, get explaining," said Tails quickly.

"Well, two nights ago, I told you about how Spencer and Jeremy were retrieving a package for me when they attacked you and Lucy," started Dragon calmly. "Well, that package just happened to be a very large crate of C4 explosives." Everyone's worried gazes flicked up at Tails quickly. "I thought that it would probably help to reduce the military base to dust after I took the palace. But now I have a much better use for it.

"I strapped half of it to your mother, Miles," he continued evilly. Tails felt his heart pounding in his chest with pure rage.

"Where is she?" asked Tails angrily.

"Just hold on, there's more," said Dragon in a somewhat amused voice. "See, someone of your mechanical skills would find defusing a bomb like that to be child's play, so I took the other half of the explosives and placed little chunks of it in strategic points on a very populated building in Station Square. One push of a button and it falls, bringing about six hundred innocent citizens with it, plus whoever gets in the way of a giant, falling building. I'm thinking the largest possible death toll is about a thousand."

"So, what, I have to choose?" asked Tails confusedly. That seemed way too easy. He'd just send Sonic after the city bomb while he went to save his mother.

"That's exactly right, Miles," said Dragon with an evil chuckle. "Your mother's at your house and you shouldn't have that hard a time of finding the wired building. It's already on emergency lockdown and the bomb squad's there assessing the situation. Just turn on the news. Have fun." Tails nearly hit the roof as the line disconnected. He was overjoyed at the thought of the easy job he had in front of him. Being quick and defusing two bombs. How hard could that be?

"Okay, Sonic, you go find out which building is wired to blow and I'll save my mother," said Tails quickly as he ran for the door.

"Tails, wait!" said Sonic quickly. Tails turned around and looked at Sonic expectantly. "Tails, this is way too easy. There's gotta be a catch to this."

"No, he would have given me the catch," said Tails quickly. "C'mon, let's go." He motioned out the door as he opened it.

"Fine," agreed Sonic reluctantly as he stood up. "But you take Lucy with you." Sonic turned to Lucy. "Lucy, you stop him from doing anything rash if something comes up as a surprise from Dragon, got it?" Lucy nodded and walked over to Tails. Sonic followed closely and the three walked out the door.

* * *

><p>Sonic arrived in downtown Station Square to find emergency vehicles of all kinds everywhere surrounding the ten story building in the middle of the city. Sonic attracted the attention of one of the emergency officials.<p>

"Hey, this building's wired, right?" he asked the officer.

"Yes, it is, our bomb squad's on it," said the officer quickly.

"Okay, why is the building locked down?" asked Sonic.

"We don't know," said the officer. "Someone must have sabotaged it so that we couldn't evacuate the building. Whoever did this is a right piece of work."

"Oh, I know," said Sonic in agreement.

"Sir!" yelled a voice from behind the officer. He turned around to look at the man calling him.

"Oh, that's our bomb squad techie," said the officer as he turned to Sonic. "He should have something useful for us." The bomb squad member ran to the officer's side and showed him a clipboard.

"What is it?" asked Sonic quickly. "Can you defuse it?"

"Not right now," said the techie quickly. "It seems that there's a second fuse in the bomb that's connected to a wireless transmitter. We think it may be to trigger another bomb somewhere. Basically, if we defuse this bomb, we detonate another somewhere else." Sonic sighed heavily. He knew where the other bomb was.

"Okay, what about the lockdown?" asked Sonic somewhat desperately. "Can we deactivate it and evacuate the building?"

"No," said the techie. "The lockdown is wired to a second detonator. If we disable the lockdown, we blow the entire building to smithereens."

"Okay, what about breaking a window and letting everyone out that way?" asked Sonic, this time very desperately.

"No, the lockdown strengthens the windows," said the officer. "Those windows are stronger than the walls of a bank vault." Sonic growled frustratedly.

"Shit!" he swore loudly. "I'm gonna kill that sonofabitch!" He turned to run, but stopped and turned back to the officer. "Tell everyone not to touch _anything_. I know how to fix this." He turned and ran full speed down the street, breaking the sound barrier about a mile down, causing a huge explosion of sound to rock the earth beneath everyone around slightly.

* * *

><p>Rosemary Prower woke up to find herself tied to a chair in her own kitchen. She looked around groggily and noticed that there were several grey, putty-like clumps sticking to the walls all around the room. Then she was immediately snapped awake as she realized that they were plastic explosives.<p>

"Oh, no," she whispered quietly. She looked around her some more and noticed a knife lying on the counter. She quickly hopped herself and the chair to the counter and craned her neck as far as she could to reach the knife with her mouth. She grabbed it with her teeth and spit it out onto the floor. Then she held her breath and braced herself as she tipped the chair over and landed on her side.

After she had landed on the ground, she quickly used her hands behind her to grab the knife and started to work at the bindings. After about two minutes, she had freed her hands. It took two more minutes to cut through the rest of the bindings on her. Finally, after she had freed herself, she ran for the front door, only to stop in her tracks when she saw that it was rigged with a lot of different colored wires. The door was rigged. She ran through the house, only to find that every exit, door or window, was rigged to blow the house up if opened or broken down. She went back to the front door and saw something that relieved her greatly. It was her son walking up to the door with Lucy. She could see them through the tiny window in the door.

"Oh, no, he's just gonna come barging in here," she said to herself aloud. She quickly bolted the door shut and grabbed the shoe off her foot as Tails approached the door.

* * *

><p>Tails walked quickly up the front steps to his house, Lucy close behind him. He was nearing the front door when, to his surprise, he heard the door being bolted shut. He reached inside his pocket for his key, but was stopped before he could grab it as he recoiled from the shattering glass as a small window in the door was broken by a shoe being shoved through it. Tails looked at the shoe on the ground and recognized it as his mother's.<p>

"Mom! Mom! Are you okay?" asked Tails urgently through the now-broken window.

"Yes, I'm fine," came his mother's voice. Then her face appeared in the newly vacant porthole in the door. "I didn't give you a glass cut, did I?"

"No, I'm fine," said Tails as he quickly. "Can you unlock the door?"

"No, I can't," said Rosemary. "He wired the door and every other possible exit in the house. If I try to get out, the bomb goes off. And there's gotta be enough explosives here to level the house and possibly the houses around us." She turned her attention to Lucy. "Lucy, you should go evacuate the neighbors around the house."

"Right," said Lucy as she turned to leave.

"Okay, Mom, look around," instructed Tails. "Tell me what you can see on the door." Rosemary withdrew her head from the window and looked down.

"Well, it's just a mess of wires," she paused for a moment. "And this piece of paper taped to the door." She handed him a piece of paper that was folded up. Tails unfolded it to find a message quickly scribbled on it.

"'Well, Miles'," Tails read aloud. "'Looks like you chose to save your mother. I wonder how she'll feel when she finds out you chose to sacrifice a thousand innocent lives at the same time.'" Tails looked up at his mother, who was wearing a confused expression.

"What does that mean, Miles?" asked Rosemary quietly.

"I don't know," replied Tails. "It doesn't make sense that he would leave this note here. If I were to open this door and detonate the bomb, I wouldn't be able to read it..."

"TAILS! DON'T!" Tails turned to the source of the warning that was just shouted at him. He saw Sonic running towards him, slowing gradually as he got closer. He was at Tails' side in a few seconds.

"What is it?" asked Tails quickly.

"Don't disarm the bomb here," said Sonic quickly. "The bombs are connected to each other. If you defuse one, you detonate the other."

"That's what this note means," sighed Tails frustratedly. He turned to his mother. "Mom, the doors not wired to detonate the bomb. It's wired to disarm it."

"Why would someone do that?" asked Rosemary confusedly.

"There's another bomb in the city," explained Sonic. "If that bomb is disarmed, the one in the city blows up. Same the other way around. Dragon wants Tails to open that door so that he goes down for detonating the bomb in the city. He loses both ways." He looked at Tails with a grave expression on his face. "If you disarm this bomb, a thousand innocent people die. If you disarm that bomb, you lose your mother." Tails was about to reply when he was interrupted by his cell phone ringing.

"Hello?" he said as he put the phone to his ear.

"You have three minutes to decide or I blow them both sky high," growled Dragon's voice over the speaker. "And don't think that the radio jammers the authorities are using will be of any affect against my transmitters. I've protected against that." The line net silent as Dragon hung up. Tails put his phone away and looked sideways at Sonic.

"We have three minutes or he blows them both," said Tails gravely. Sonic raised his eyebrows in surprise, then turned to look at Rosemary.

"Mrs. Prower, I'll give you two a minute to make your final goodbyes," said Sonic quietly. "I'm sure you understand."

"Of course, Sonic," said Rosemary sadly, looking at her son.

"What?" asked an outraged Tails. "We're just gonna leave her?"

"I'm sorry, Tails, but we've got no choice," said Sonic frustratedly.

"Of course we do," argued Tails. "This situation that Dragon put us in is the dictionary definition of a 'choice'."

"So you're going to choose to sacrifice a thousand innocent people to save your mother," challenged Sonic somewhat angrily. Tails opened his mouth to reply, but stopped to think it over. "Tails!"

"Sonic, stop talking for a moment," interjected Rosemary. "You're not helping anyone by getting in an argument. Let me talk to him."

"Fine," said Sonic irritatedly. Tails walked over to his mother's face in the window.

"Mom, I'm not letting him take you from me, too," started Tails before his mother could say anything. "He took Dad, he's not taking you, too."

"Miles, I realize that this is a hard decision to make," started Rosemary. "So I'm not letting you make it."

"What?" asked Tails perplexedly. "What are you-?"

"I'm gonna detonate the bomb myself," Rosemary cut him off.

"You're gonna what?" asked Tails, surprised. "No, I can't let you-"

"I don't need you to let me do anything, Miles," she cut him off shortly. "This is what has to be done."

"Don't ask me to stand by and watch my own mother blow herself up for my benefit," argued Tails angrily.

"And don't make me watch my son become a mass murderer for mine!" said Rosemary sternly. Tails stared at her determinedly.

"Fine," he said shortly. "But don't think I'm just gonna walk away from here. If Dragon wants to blow you up he's gonna have to blow me up, too, and he's not gonna do that."

"Then he'll blow up the building to punish you for that," argued Sonic. "I can't let you stay here, Tails."

"And I can't let myself walk away from my mother," said Tails. "I know how Dragon works. He's not gonna-"

"_No one_ knows how Dragon works, Tails," said Sonic. "He's literally more unpredictable than earthquakes."

"Well, I'm sticking to my plan," said Tails stubbornly.

"Fine, then you leave me no choice," said Sonic as he advanced on Tails. "This is for your own good." He grabbed Tails from behind, putting one arm around his neck and the other around his chest and arms, dragging him away. Tails struggled hard in Sonic's grasp, squirming and kicking to get out.

"No! No! Get offa me! Get off!" he yelled in protest as he struggled. Sonic looked up at Rosemary, who was watching with tears streaming down her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Prower," said Sonic sadly. "Gimme three minutes to get Lucy outta here. Then I can give you five minutes max, so work quickly."

"It's fine Sonic," she said, letting out a small sob. "I love you, Miles!"

"No! Mom!" yelled Tails angrily, tears streaming down his face. Sonic struggled hard, but was able to keep Tails under his control, but his grasp on Tails weakened when he got down to the sidewalk as he felt in invisible force close around his throat, constricting his breathing. That's when Tails took the opportunity to aim a telekinetic punch at Sonic's face, causing Sonic to let go of him and tumble to the ground. Sonic looked up at Tails. The fur under his eyes was soaked with tears and his eyes were red. They were also glowing with rage.

"So this is what it's gonna come to?" challenged Sonic. "You're gonna kill me to save your mom? Along with everyone else in that building? Am I just gonna be another name on the long list of casualties?"

"I don't need you dead, Sonic," growled Tails. "Just incapacitated." He knelt down by Sonic's side. "I know you'd do exactly the same thing if it were one of your parents."

"And you'd do the exact same thing I'm doing," retorted Sonic coldly.

"Exactly," said Tails. He pulled back his fist and grabbed Sonic by his chest, preparing to deliver the blow. Sonic readied himself to defend himself against Tails whatever way he could. Tails started to bring his fist down, but stopped short as a hand grabbed his shoulder from behind. As soon as the hand made contact, Tails tensed up, stopping in mid-punch and letting go of Sonic. He started to twitch and convulse slightly and Sonic heard a low humming, crackling sound. The hand let go of Tails and he collapsed, unconscious. Sonic looked up and saw Lucy standing above them both with a sad look on her face. She held her hand out to Sonic, who took it, and helped him up.

"Thanks," he said quietly. "And I'm sorry."

"It's fine," said Lucy. "Everyone's outta the way. What's the plan?"

"Get outta here, ourselves," said Sonic. "I'll take you and Tails home. Then I'll go tell the bomb squad at the building to defuse their bomb."

"Gotcha," said Lucy, looking down sadly.

"Can you pick him up?" asked Sonic, pointing to Tails.

"I can do better," said Lucy. "I can send him home while he's asleep."

"You can?" asked Sonic, surprised.

"How do you think Dragon got him to rob that store without him even knowing about it?" asked Lucy.

"Okay," said Sonic with a shrug. "I'll be a minute. I just have to say something to Mrs. P." Lucy nodded and bent down to work on Tails. Sonic walked quickly back up the front walk to the door, where Rosemary was still watching. "I'm really sorry, Mrs. Prower. I wasn't expecting cooperation from him, but I didn't expect it to go this far."

"It's fine, Sonic," said Rosemary with a sigh. "I completely understand why he's being this way."

"Right," sighed Sonic quietly. "Is there uh... anything you want me to tell him?"

"Just that I love him and that I'm proud of him," said Rosemary. "Tell him I don't hold this against him either if he starts beating himself up about it."

"Right," said Sonic with a nod. "How long do you think it'll take?"

"Give me about a minute," said Rosemary. "But could you just wait for a sec. I want to give you something for him." Sonic nodded and Rosemary disappeared from the window. She came back about thirty seconds later, slipping a long, sheathed saber through the window.

"The General's?" asked Sonic.

"Amadeus left it to Miles in his will," said Rosemary quietly. "And give him this, too." She handed him a picture frame. The picture depicted the Prower family on Tails' sixteenth birthday. Tails stood in front of his parents, smiling widely. His father stood behind him to his left, smiling softly, his hand lain on Tails' shoulder, while his mother was bent down behind Tails, hugging him tightly and laughing.

"I'll give them to him," said Sonic sadly. "Work quick, Mrs. Prower. I don't know if Dragon was serious about that three minute deadline, but he's probably getting impatient, so just get it done ASAP."

"Got it," she said quietly, choking back a sob. "Goodbye, Sonic. Take care of Miles." Sonic turned and flashed her a soft, sad smile as he walked away, giving her a small, two-fingered salute. She watched as Tails got up under Lucy's mind control and flew away and Sonic took Lucy and booked it. Then she turned around and headed back into the house, running to the kitchen where the detonator was. She opened it up and grabbed a pair of scissors. She knew that in every decent bomb, cutting the wrong wire would be disastrous if you're trying to disarm it, but not if you're trying to set it off.

"Okay," she said quietly as she felt her pulse skyrocket. "Take care, Miles." She held her breath and put the scissor blade up to a wire in the bomb's inner workings. She braced herself as she clenched the blades together and cut the wire.

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow. Sad ending, right? So how's Tails gonna react to Sonic after he wakes up? What's he gonna do to Dragon if and when he ever gets his hands on him? What unthinkable punishment does Dragon have in store for Tails next? Find out next time. Hope to update soon, but I'm a little blocked on the next chapter, so I don't know how long it's gonna take. Sorry. Anyway, same ol' drill: Review, tell friends, favorite, alert, and remember to wave to every pink elephant you see on the street. Seeya!<br>**


	11. Rescuer

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I am. It has been a while. This chapter took _forever! _It was a pain to write. I rewrote it like twice before deeming it worthy of posting. But don't worry. My next chapter won't take as long to write. I've got the whole thing pretty much worked out and I'm gonna have it finished soon. So, yeah, anyway... ENJOY!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Tails woke up with a splitting headache. He felt like the inside of his head was on fire. He also had no idea why his head felt like that. He knew there was a reason, but he couldn't remember what it was.<p>

"Oh, guys, he's coming to," he heard a familiar voice say quickly. He couldn't place the owner of the voice. He opened his eyes slowly, only to be blinded by the light in whatever place he was in. He put his hand up to shield his eyes from the light and everything else came into focus around him slowly. He saw three people standing over him, watching him anxiously. The first person he recognized was Lucy, who was standing on the left side of the bed, watching him intently. The second person was Sonic, who was standing on his right, watching him with the same intent as Lucy. The third was Sally, who was standing next to Sonic and watching Tails with the same expression as the other two, but she looked really nervous, too.

"Uhhh," groaned Tails exhaustedly. He coughed a couple times and put his hand down as his eyes adjusted to the light. "What happened?"

"Uh..." started Sonic nervously.

"We went to go save your mother," finished Lucy slowly. Then it hit Tails. He remembered the note from Dragon, he remembered his mother's face in the small window of the door; he remembered Sonic coming to warn him about the trap Dragon had set up. He couldn't remember anything after that, though.

"Oh, okay, that's-" Tails stopped to yawn. "-good." He looked up at Lucy. "Where is she?" She raised her eyebrows in surprise. Tails looked around to see that Sonic and Sally were wearing the same surprised faces.

"Um, Tails..." Lucy's voice trailed off. Tails' heart stopped as he feared the worst. He knew what she was getting at, but he didn't want to believe that. She looked down sadly as she opened her mouth to finish the sentence. "Your mother didn't make it." Then the rest of the event hit Tails as the words came out of her mouth. He remembered how he fought and struggled against Sonic as the blue hedgehog dragged him down the front walk of his house; how he watched with tear-blurred vision as his mother's face in the small, square window slowly drifted away from him.

Tails looked up at Sonic angrily, his heart pounding with rage for the hedgehog that was supposed to be his best friend, his big brother.

"Tails-" Sonic was cut off as the enraged fox aimed a telekinetic punch at him that sent him to the floor with a low, pained grunt. Tails groaned and grabbed his head as it exploded with pain from the task of powering the punch up.

"Tails!" yelled Lucy and gasped Sally in unison. Sally bent down to help Sonic up while Lucy grabbed Tails by the shoulder and shoved him back down onto the bed.

"Down!" she commanded angrily as she held him. Tails crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side haughtily as Sonic stood up with Sally's help.

"Sally, Lucy," said Sonic quietly as he wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. Tails noticed that there was a white bandage wrapped around most of Sonic's right forearm. "I think Tails and I need to have a private talk right now. Please leave." He stared directly at Tails; the only perceivable expression on his face was the determination in his eyes. Tails couldn't figure out what he was determined to do right now, but he could tell he wasn't going to give up easily.

"Sonic, no, I don't-" Sally started to protest.

"Go, Sally!" commanded Sonic shortly, cutting her off. She opened her mouth to protest further, but just sighed defeatedly and led Lucy out the door, shutting it behind them. Sonic turned around slowly to lock the door. Tails took the chance to reach for his foot under the covers to grab a knife from his shoe, only to realize he wasn't wearing them. Then he realized he wasn't wearing anything. He looked over the side of the bed to see his shoes lying on the floor. He grabbed the knife hidden in his right shoe with his mind and pulled it to him, catching it as it zoomed out of the small slot in the back of his sole.

Tails took the knife and raised it above his head as Sonic started to turn back around. He launched it quickly and saw it fly at the hedgehog. It embedded itself in the door right by his right ear as he turned his attention towards Tails, only to quickly recoil to the side at the loud THUD of the knife. Tails hadn't meant to hit Sonic. Just scare the crap out of him.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed loudly as he ducked down. "Where'd you get the knife? I thought I'd taken them all from you."

"Why'd you take all my knives?" asked Tails quickly, narrowing his eyes at the hedgehog.

"You haven't exactly been asleep, Tails," retorted Sonic somewhat coldly. "You've been having random night terrors ever since we got you into bed." He raised his right arm and pointed to the bandage around it. "This was courtesy of the little episode you had a few hours ago. After we got you settled down and gotten my wound dressed, I took it upon myself to strip-search you for anymore knives that you had."

"Maybe you deserved that," said Tails coldly.

"Okay, what could I have possibly done to deserve getting filleted by you?" asked Sonic challengingly.

"I could have saved her!" yelled Tails angrily in retort. "But you wouldn't let me! You are just as responsible for her death as Dragon is!"

"Yeah, 'cause I was the one who trapped her inside a house of C4," said Sonic sarcastically.

"He was giving me a chance to save her," growled Tails hatefully.

"At what cost, Tails?" yelled Sonic. "A thousand innocent people? And the backbone of the United Federation's economy? That's what that building was. That would have caused devastation for their government. That little stunt Dragon pulled isn't just psychotic mass murder now. It's being seen as a terrorist attack. Do you think that's what your mother would have wanted you to sacrifice for her?" Tails opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. All he could do was sit and stare at Sonic with a, somewhat shocked, but otherwise, blank expression. "I thought so." Sonic crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall.

"Y- You're r- r- right," stammered Tails quietly as he looked down at the covers over his legs. "It- it's not you're f- fault." Sonic sighed and looked at him sadly. He walked slowly over to Tails and sat down next to him on the bed, laying his hand on Tails' shoulder reassuringly. "I'm- I'm sorry, Sonic."

"It's fine, little buddy," said Sonic quietly. "I'm really sorry about all of this. It must be _insanely_ overwhelming." Tails nodded silently.

That's when he broke. He pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his head into them, racked with sobs as he tried, and failed, to fight them back. Sonic patted him on the back softly as he watched his little brother endure a torture he had never experienced. Sure, he had lost his parents at a young age to Robotnik's takeover, but he had always lived with the hope that they would return one day. Tails didn't even have that.

After Tails had finished, he looked up at Sonic. His eyes were red and the fur on his face was soaked with sweat and tears.

"It's okay, buddy," said Sonic quietly. "We'll get through this. Somehow." Tails nodded silently as he looked at the wall opposite him, staring at it absentmindedly, lost in thought. "Hey, your parents did leave you some stuff, though." Tails looked back at Sonic.

"What?" he asked quietly. Sonic turned around and went to the side of the room to retrieve a long, black object that was leaning against the wall. He brought it over to Tails and laid it in front of him. Tails looked it over. "My father's sword?" The blue hedgehog nodded and smiled sadly.

"Your mother told me that he left it for you in his will," said Sonic quietly. Tails slid a small portion of the blade out of its scabbard and looked at it closely. It shone brightly in the light. He smiled softly as he admired the sword. Sonic felt a small twinge of comfort as he watched the first smile he'd seen from the fox in the last twenty four hours, as small and soft as it was, cross his face.

"Thanks, Dad," he whispered somewhat happily as he slid the sword back in its scabbard.

"Your mother also gave me this," said Sonic, gesturing to the nightstand by the bed. Tails spotted the photograph he'd taken with his parents on his sixteenth birthday.

"Thanks," said Tails gratefully, looking up at Sonic.

"Don't thank me, thank your mom," said Sonic. Tails nodded.

"So, how long was I out?" asked Tails curiously.

"Well, more than a day, actually," said Sonic. "I think the subconscious shock might have given a bit of an extra push when Lucy knocked you off your feet with a nice tazing."

"Like, how many hours?" asked Tails.

"About..." Sonic looked up as he counted in his head. "Thirty? Thirty two?"

"Wow," said Tails with an exhausted groan.

"Yeah," said Sonic. "We were able to get you woken up enough to eat half a loaf of bread and drink a glass of water, but I _know_ you weren't lucid for it."

"And how many of these 'night terrors' did I have?" asked Tails.

"Well, this-" Sonic held up his bandaged arm. "-was the last one. That was a few hours ago. Before that, there was one where you nearly took out that wall." Sonic pointed to the wall behind him. "And the first one you had, you carved that into the mirror." Sonic pointed to the mirror by the closet to Tails' left. It was about seven feet tall and two feet wide. There were different words carved into the mirror. Most of them were "FATHER", "MOTHER", "MOM", "DAD", "PARENTS", and other words of that subject matter.

"It's like a freaking demon possession," remarked Tails plainly.

"That's what happens when you put an immensely powerful psychic in a 'trauma coma'," said Sonic. Tails nodded. "Oh, one more thing. Elias wants to see you. He told me to tell you to come ASAP, but only when you're ready to."

"Alright, I'll go tomorrow," said Tails. "Could you send Lucy in?"

"Sure," said Sonic quietly with a soft nod. He walked to the door and left. Lucy came in shortly afterward and watched as Tails sat up to face her.

"Listen, Miles, I'm sorry about-" started Lucy quickly.

"It's okay," said Tails quietly, cutting her apology off. She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You did the right thing. I was nowhere near thinking straight. You kept me straight. Thank you, Lucy."

"Um... Your welcome," said Lucy softly. She walked over to the bed and sat down next to Tails, kissing him softly on the cheek.

"Oh, wow, I need some dinner," said Tails quietly, feeling his stomach rumble furiously. Then he took Lucy's wrist and looked at her watch. "It's dinner time, right?" The watch read "three thirty". "Eh, close enough." He dropped Lucy's wrist.

"It's alright," said Lucy with a chuckle. "I'll get you something." She got up to leave, but Tails grabbed her arm to stop her.

"No," he said quietly. "You wanna have dinner with me?"

"Well, sure, but I have to go get it," said Lucy, pointing to the door.

"I'll take care of that," said Tails, releasing her arm and scooting over to one side of the bed, patting his hand on the other side, telling Lucy to sit by him. She smiled and sat down. Tails closed his eyes and concentrated hard, reaching out with his mind to find the people he needed. He sat there for another moment as he focused, opening his eyes and smiling at Lucy. "Just a few minutes."

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Sonic and Antoine walked in, each holding a plate of food in each hand. Sonic placed a plate in front of each fox. They both had a chili dog, a cheeseburger, and a pile of fries on them.

"I decided to run out and get you two something," he said with a warm smile. "I'll get the drinks." He ran out quickly, leaving Antoine to put his plates in front of the foxes. They both held a pile of spaghetti and a chicken meal on them.

"And I decided to make you two something," he said kindly. "Bon appétit." He bowed slightly and walked to the door. Sonic came back in and placed a drink on each nightstand on either side of the bed. He followed Antoine to the door and left quickly, flashing them both a quick smile before closing the door behind him.

"One telepathic push and I have the finest homemade and fast food cuisine in the city in front of me," said Tails with a clever smile.

"Oh, you're bad," said Lucy with an amused smile.

"Shh," shushed Tails as he playfully put his finger to his lips. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "It'll be our little secret."

* * *

><p>Dragon walked down the hallway of the apartment building quickly. His steps were fast and silent. He stopped as he came to the door he was looking for. He reached inside the room on the other side with his mind, seeing who was in the vicinity. After he had assessed where everyone was, he concentrated on broadcasting a telepathic signal that told everyone around him to ignore him and whatever he does. After that, he snapped his fingers and the door unlocked itself. He turned the knob slowly and quietly. As strong and sure as he was that no one would notice him, he knew it never hurt to be careful to not draw attention to himself while he was trying to hide. He walked into the apartment quietly and shut the door behind him, locking it again.<p>

* * *

><p>Tails lay awake on his bed, lost in thought as he stared, unfocused, at the alarm clock in Sonic's guest room on the nightstand. It read eight o' clock now. Right beside it stood the photograph of him and his parents. The only photograph he had left of them, excluding whatever he could dig up off the computer. He looked at it longingly, wishing that there was some way that he could bring them back, hoping that he wouldn't feel as alone as he did right now forever. He felt a single tear run down his cheek as he gazed at the picture. Then his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening and closing. He heard the soft footsteps of someone walking to the side of his bed behind him.<p>

_It's probably just Lucy coming to check up on me_, Tails thought to himself as he sighed softly and closed his eyes in an attempt to feign sleep. After the dinner they had had, they had both agreed that Tails needed to rest a little more, so Tails wanted her to think that he was asleep. He had tried to sleep since she left, but he had so much in his mind right now, add that to the fact that he had just woken up from a thirty hour coma, however restless it was, he knew there was no way he was going to sleep for a while.

"Hello, Tails," Tails spun around at the sound of Dragon's voice behind him. He turned to see the black dog standing at his bedside, smiling maliciously. He was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and his usual black leather jacket.

"You bast-!" Tails started to launch himself at Dragon.

"Sit down and shut up," Dragon said calmly, holding his hand up to cut Tails off. Tails stopped in mid-assault. He had no idea why, but he felt the sudden urge to sit back and listen to Dragon. He tried as hard as he could to fight it, but he sat back and quietly, if very hatefully, watched the dog in front of him. "Ah, that's better, Mr. Prower. Now, first, I'd like to start out by saying that you don't have to worry, all your friends outside are fine. Whether they stay that way or not is up to how civil you'd like to act right now."

"Do I have a choice?" asked Tails quietly, finding that he couldn't raise his voice louder than what most would consider the quieter side of an "inside voice".

"The level of civility will be judged by the amount of resistance you give me," explained Dragon as he sat down on the end of the bed.

"What do you want?" asked Tails, narrowing his eyes angrily, but otherwise, choosing not to resist against the mind control.

"Just to talk," said Dragon casually. He sighed softly. "So, both parents. I took them both from you. You wish I had killed you yet?"

"Oh, believe me, that thought crossed my mind," said Tails, quoting the words Dragon had spoken over the phone two nights before. "Albeit, for a little less than a nanosecond. But then I thought about my parents and how they wouldn't want me to give up just like that."

"Well, maybe we can find someone who'd be a little less encouraging of rising to an impossible and crazy challenge," said Dragon quietly. "How about Sonic? Maybe we could get _him_ to convince you to give up more easily."

"If you get near him or any of the others, I'll-" started Tails threateningly.

"You'll what?" challenged Dragon. "You'll hunt me down? Torture me? Redefine what the word 'pain' means to me?"

"Yes," spat Tails angrily. "And then some."

"Well, like I said, one of your friend's will help me convince you to give up," said Dragon. "I'm still trying to figure out what message they'll send, though. How about Sonic's head in a box? You think that will be enough to make you wanna die?"

"I honestly think that getting that message would fire me up even more," growled Tails hatefully.

"Oh, you won't be the one getting the message directly," explained Dragon amusedly. "No, I was thinking Sally could bring you the message. Imagine what kind of damage that would deal to her. Poor, dear, pregnant Sally finding her beloved husband's disembodied, hollowed-out head on her front step. That could have a very devastating effect on a hormone-crazed, pregnant woman. I'm talking serious psychological damage."

"Okay, fine, if you want to kill me so bad, stop beating around the bush," challenged Tails angrily. "Go on, you're right here, kill me. Finish it off."

"No," said Dragon plainly. "See, when I kill you, I want it to be because you begged me to. I want to see you on your knees, groveling at my feet, crying for me to kill you."

"What happens should I decide to off myself?" asked Tails. "What if I wanna sacrifice myself to keep the others safe?"

"Then I can promise you that I won't let off if you do," said Dragon. "I will still torture your friends." He stared Tails down for a moment before speaking again. "Now, go to sleep, Miles. You need your rest. And don't worry. I won't harm anyone anytime soon. I'll give you a week to rest up. Then it's time for round two of our little game." Dragon stood up and turned toward the door. Tails felt himself drifting to sleep as he watched Dragon walk away, unable to do anything to stop him from escaping.

* * *

><p>"You wanted to see me, Sir?" Tails knelt politely in front of King Elias the next morning.<p>

"Yes, Tails," replied Elias quietly as Tails rose. "Firstly, I wanted to give you my condolences and to tell you that that your Uncle Merlin is overseeing most of the planning, but there are some things that we'll want your input on, so you don't have to worry about planning an entire funeral service."

"Thank you, Sir," said Tails, nodding politely. "Is Uncle Merlin in town?"

"Um, no, he's on his way, though," said Elias quietly. "Now, another matter we need to discuss. I had a bit of an idea. I don't know if you had heard about the job your father was going to take up before this whole mess started."

"Yeah, he told me about it a bit," said Tails quietly. "It was some kind of merger between the Kingdom and the United Federation, right? Like an Acorn Military-G.U.N. merger, right?"

"Yes, a bit like that," said Elias, clearing his throat. "Now, fortunately, due to your exoneration, I've been able to work out a new deal with G.U.N. They're willing to do the merger again if we make the new team of soldiers a squad of psychics. Obviously, I need a crash course in how psychic abilities work. Sally told me that you could explain that. She also said that you said that I'm a very powerful candidate for abilities?"

"Yes, Sir, I did say that," said Tails. "You have a lot of psychic potential."

"Yes, well, anyway, along with an explanation, we're going to need someone who can pick good candidates for the team and someone to train them," said Elias. "Tails, I wanted to know if you would want to take up your father's position as the squad's leader." Tails raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Um... Su- Sure," said Tails quickly. "I'd love to take that position. It would be an honor."

"Good," said Elias quietly.

"Sir, could I make a few requests, though?" asked Tails.

"What are they?" asked Elias curiously.

"Well, actually, just one," said Tails. "I'd like to hold off on this project until Dragon's outta the way. I've got a lot on my plate right now with him. I don't think I can maintain my own psychic-soldier team at the same time. Plus, anyone on that team is at risk of being killed or recruited by Dragon."

"I understand," said Elias with a nod. "But I will still want an explanation from you about how this stuff works, Tails."

"Is there any way I could ask to do that at a sit-down with you _and_ Shadow?" asked Tails politely. "Y'know, so I can kill two birds with one stone?"

"Of course, how does tomorrow morning sound?" asked Elias.

"Good for me," said Tails, holding two thumbs up. "I'll have to ask Shadow, though."

"I'll make sure Shadow's there," said Elias with a chuckle.

"Okay," said Tails quietly. He bowed politely and turned to leave. "Goodbye, Your Majesty."

"Be at the palace gates at ten tomorrow morning," said Elias kindly. "And, Tails?" Tails turned to look at Elias. "Take it easy. We can handle Dragon for now. Hunting down a psychopath isn't conducive for a healthy grieving process, Tails."

"All due respect, Your Majesty," started Tails gravely. "Dragon eluded your men for a month in one of Station Square's penthouse apartments. Couple that with the fact that Dragon's out to get me through my friend's. Sonic's next on the list, Sally's probably after him. Plus, Sally's pregnant, so that makes it that much worse if either dies. Considering all that, I'd say the fact that I'm not out there hunting him down right now is taking it easy enough."

"Should I put security on Sonic and Sally's apartment?" asked Elias somewhat nervously. Tails thought for a moment.

"No, don't waste the manpower," said Tails. "Dragon said he'd back off for the next week."

"You believe him?" asked Elias skeptically.

"Dragon's honest," said Tails. "Lying about the game he's playing with me is beneath him. He doesn't have to lie to play with me, so he won't. The fact that he's being totally honest about it and still winning just makes it more fun for him." Elias nodded silently as Tails turned to leave again.

* * *

><p>"How'd it go?" Tails looked in the direction of the voice as he walked into the apartment. He saw Lucy laid back on the couch, looking up at him expectantly. On the love-seat across the room sat Sonic and Sally, looking at him with the same expectant expression. The only person who wasn't watching Tails was Antoine, who was lying on the lounge chair to Tails' right, sleeping quietly.<p>

"Antoine, wake up, you'll wanna hear this," said Tails as he walked over to the couch and hopped over the back, landing behind Lucy in a sitting position. He put his feet up on the coffee table and laid back, letting Lucy lay her head in his lap. Tails looked up at Antoine to see that he was still asleep. "Yo! Ant!" Tails flicked his hand out, snapping his fingers in a small flourish. A spark of electricity flew out of his hand and impacted on his shoulder, causing him to twitch slightly as he jolted up from his slumber with a sharp yelp.

"Whoa!" he yelled in surprise. He looked over to Tails and Lucy, who were chuckling slightly. "What did you do zat for?" He gave them an annoyed look.

"Sorry, you wanna be awake for this, though, 'Twan," said Tails with a smile. He looked around the room and exhaled slowly. "Elias wants to put my father's G.U.N.-Acorn team back together." Sonic, Lucy, and Sally all raised their eyebrows at him and Antoine gasped in surprise. "_And_ he wants me to take my father's place as leader."

"YIPPEE!" yelled Antoine happily, standing up and throwing his arms up in excitement.

"Tails, that's great," said Sally slowly. "But he just wants to _give_ you an important military position like that with no _ordinary_ military training?"

"Yep," said Tails shortly. "Because he and G.U.N. want to make the team into a military psychic squad." Antoine froze in his excited celebration and looked at Tails in shock. He sat back down and bent over, leaning his head on his hands and looking down sorrowfully.

"Aww," he groaned sadly.

"What's wrong, Ant?" asked Tails with a cocked eyebrow.

"I'm not a psychic," said Antoine. "I'm not going to be on ze team."

"I'll be the judge of that, Antoine," said Tails promptly. He motioned for Antoine to come to him. Antoine came and Tails held his hand out to him. He gave the fox his hand and Tails closed his eyes for a second. "Eh, it could be worse." He released Antoine's hand and opened his eyes, smiling softly up at the coyote. "You're better off than Sonic, but still not good. Maybe..." Tails looked up thoughtfully. "One ability?" He looked down at Lucy. "Maybe a little of a second?" She gave an approving head tick. "He's not very potent, but he's got a good capacity."

"What?" asked Antoine confusedly.

"It means that you're a decent learner when it comes to learning an ability, but you're not gonna be very strong with them," explained Tails casually.

"Is zat good?" asked Antoine slowly.

"Well, depends what you mean by good," said Tails.

"Normally, capacity and potency are directly proportional," said Lucy. "If you're really powerful, you've probably got the ability to learn any number of abilities, just like if you're not very powerful-"

"Which you're not," cut in Tails.

"-then you probably won't be able to learn very many abilities."

"You're lucky if you learn one," Tails continued for Lucy. "But some are either inversely proportional or not proportional at all. You aren't proportional. You aren't very powerful, but you could probably learn two abilities. Not easily-"

"And you'd never be real strong," cut in Lucy.

"But you might be able to survive, possibly win an actual psychic battle," finished Tails.

"Does zat mean I am on ze team?" asked Antoine hopefully.

"It means I could probably get you on as a hand-to-hand expert," said Tails.

"How does hand-to-hand figure into a psychic team?" asked Sonic confusedly. Tails stood up slowly, letting Lucy lift her head out of his lap and sit up on the couch.

"Well, one, very basic tactic in a psychic fighter's arsenal is this," said Tails. He drew his fist back and threw a punch into the air. As Tails finished the punch, a soft, high-pitched screech emanated from his hand. "You can boost your punches, kicks, and anything else that involves direct impact on something with a little bit of a telekinetic energy boost. I'll show you how to do that later, Ant."

"Ahh," hummed Sonic understandingly.

"Yeah, so I have no experience with military close-combat tactics," said Tails. "So I'll need you for that."

"Am I on this team?" asked Lucy as Tails sat down again. She laid her head back in his lap and looked up at him.

"I'm sure I could use you," said Tails. "After all, you're a much more powerful psychic than I am."

"That's true," said Lucy with a clever smile. Then her face took on a slightly somber expression. "So, when's your parents' funeral?"

"I called my Uncle Merlin on the way over here," started Tails with a sigh. "He said that it should be in a couple days. He's coming over later tonight to visit, see how I'm doing, etcetera."

"Ah," said Sonic and Lucy softly in unison.

"I'm really sorry, Tails," said Sally softly.

"It's fine," said Tails, craning his head back and looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I- I just need to focus on taking down Dragon."

"Well, if it helps any," said Lucy quietly. "You and I could do a little sparring. I've been waiting to take you on. You wanna give it a go?"

"No, thanks," sighed Tails somewhat sadly without looking down at Lucy. "Maybe some other time, Luce." He gently lifted her head out of his lap and stood up. He walked around the couch and into the hallway, disappearing silently around the corner of the wall. They all heard the quiet opening and closing of the door to the guest room.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Tails found himself sitting at a small table in a large, silent courtyard inside the palace grounds. Shadow sat across from him, watching him silently, expressionless. There was a pot of coffee in the middle of the table. Shadow hadn't touched it, but Tails had poured himself a cup, but only taken one sip of the beverage even though they had been waiting for about a half hour for Elias to come. He had told them he'd only be a few minutes.<p>

Finally, the silence was broken by the sound of two large gates being opened at one end of the courtyard. Elias walked slowly down the length of the courtyard to the small table that the two Mobians were waiting at.

"Sorry for the delay," he said politely as he sat down between the two. "I got a bit sidetracked."

"No problem," said Tails indifferently. "So, where do you two wanna start?"

"How about at the beginning?" asked Shadow, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

"Okay, so, Psychics 101, then?" asked Tails.

"Actually, I was thinking the _very_ beginning," said Shadow. "Preferably starting right after you shot Sonic and jumped out the window."

"What?" asked Tails, eyebrows raised in surprise. "You haven't heard _that_ story?"

"No, I have," said Shadow with a shrug. "I just wanna hear your story. I don't like hearing things secondhand. I like _firsthand_ accounts."

"Oh, wow," groaned Tails annoyedly. "Alright, fine, I'll start there." So Tails told Shadow the story that he had told everyone else already, starting with jumping out his bedroom window and ending with the crash course on psychics he had given to Sally, Sonic, and Nate.

"And that's everything that happened," finished Tails promptly. "And that's all I can figure out about how psychics work."

"So, you can tell if people are psychics or not?" asked Shadow with a cocked eyebrow.

"I can," said Tails shortly.

"Okay," said Shadow. He put on a serious expression. "Tell me if I am."

"Gimme your hand," said Tails. He held his hand out expectantly. Shadow put his hand in Tails' and Tails closed his eyed to concentrate. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes again and let go of Shadow's hand. "Dry as a desert. No psychic potential _at all_. Probably hobbled by your chaos powers."

"But you have chaos powers, too," said Shadow confusedly.

"But you have a direct connection to the Chaos Force," replied Tails indifferently. "Connection to that power probably hobbles your psychic ability in some way. I'm not sure how, but I intend to find out after Dragon's out of the picture." He turned his gaze towards Elias. "Now, about this whole 'team' thing-" Tails air-quoted the word "team". "-I wanna know who I'm gonna be working with."

"You'll test G.U.N.'s and the military's top soldiers to read their psychic potential," explained Elias. "Then we'll assemble a small team based on your findings."

"Okay, but I already have two people I want on my team," said Tails plainly.

"Who?" asked Shadow with a slightly frustrated sigh.

"Commander Antoine D'Coolette," said Tails in a mock-grand tone. "And Miss Lucy Walker."

"Antoine, we can talk about," said Shadow shortly. "But there's no way we can let Lucy be a part of this. She's not trustworthy, we barely know her, and-"

"I trust Lucy with my life," said Tails shortly, cutting Shadow off. "She's much more powerful than I am and she'd be a valuable part of any military psychic team, especially if I'm in charge of it. Lucy's in, or I don't play ball. Those two are non-negotiable."

"You don't want Sonic on the team?" asked Elias with a cocked eyebrow. Tails scoffed dryly.

"Sonic's my best friend," said Tails, still chuckling slightly. "But there's no way I'm having Sonic be a subordinate I'm responsible for. Right now, officially, Sonic answers directly to you, Your Majesty. But unofficially, he answers only to himself. I don't need to be publicly responsible for a soldier that erratic and independent."

"Ah," said Elias with an understanding smile. "Well, I'll see what I can do to get G.U.N. to clear Lucy for the team. Is Antoine a psychic?"

"A bit," said Tails. "Not very powerful, but I have a use for him."

"So, wait," said Shadow quickly. "You're just gonna let her in? Just like that?"

"I trust her," said Elias. "Enough to let her in under Tails' eye."

"Thank you," said Tails smugly, leaning back in his chair. Shadow groaned his frustration loudly.

"Fine," he said through gritted teeth. "If you guys wanna just bring people off the street and trust them with your lives, it's fine with me, but I'm not completely trusting of everyone who does a good deed or two." He stood up and walked towards the exit gate. "CHAOS-" He disappeared in a bright flash and the courtyard was silent.

"That went well," said Elias, looking back at Tails. Tails nodded in approval. Then he stood up and bowed slightly. "It's been a pleasure, Your Highness. Now, I have to get back and help my uncle plan a funeral."

"Alright, Tails, I'll see you later," said Elias as he got up and walked back towards the castle. Tails nodded and flew away quickly.

* * *

><p>The next few days quiet. Nothing eventful happened. Tails spent most of the time spending time with Lucy and training Antoine. They had begun training by having Antoine try to knock an empty soda can on its side without touching it. The closest they got was Antoine telekinetically vibrating the can, causing it to dance noisily across the table.<p>

The next afternoon, Tails stood alone in a cemetery. He gazed at the large headstone in front of him. He couldn't get past the thought that, from now on, the closest he could get to his own parents was a six-foot-minimum distance.

The entire funeral service was a blur for Tails. He remembered there being a lot of military personnel there. He also remembered getting up and talking about his parents. Other than that, the only thing he could recall from the funeral was the sick feeling he got when he saw his father's corpse in the open casket, then how he felt even sicker about his mother's casket not being open.

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" asked a familiar voice behind Tails. He looked around and saw an old, brown-furred, white-bearded fox behind him. He was wearing a black tuxedo suit, similar to the one Tails was wearing. Today was the first time he had ever seen his uncle wearing something other than his usual brown cloak.

"Yeah, it is," said Tails solemnly, turning his attention back to his parents' headstone. "It feels..." Tails' voice trailed off as he thought for a second. "Weird. I got used to having an actual place to call home. A house to live in where I had my family. Now I've got nowhere."

"Well, what about Sonic?" asked Merlin, stopping right behind Tails' right shoulder, gazing at the headstone with him. "Aren't you staying with him?"

"He's only got two bedrooms in his apartment," said Tails quietly. "And they've got a kid on the way. It's only a matter of time before I have to vacate to make room for a new baby."

"That still gives you nine months to find a new place," said Merlin. "And it's not like you've got nothing at all. You're parents didn't exactly have nothing, either, and they probably left that to you."

"Yeah, I guess," said Tails, looking down at his shoes for a second. "I miss them so much."

"I do, too," said Merlin sadly. Tails looked around at him. He locked eyes with the young fox and smiled sadly. "Y'know, you look just like your father when he was your age, Miles."

"Do I?" asked Tails. "Hmm." He looked back at the headstone again and sighed.

"Yes, you do," said Merlin quietly. They were both silent for a couple minutes as they stood and just watched the headstone. The silence was finally broken by the sound of Merlin clearing his throat. "Well, you want a ride back, or do you wanna stay here?"

"I'm gonna stay for a minute," said Tails quietly. "You go ahead. I'm waiting for Lucy. She left a few minutes ago to find a bathroom. Should be back any minute. Then I have someone else to visit while I'm here." He held a small bouquet up to show Merlin. "That's what this is for."

"Well, I'll leave you to that, then," said Merlin with a sad sigh. He turned to leave. "Hello, Lucy." Tails turned to find Lucy walking towards them. Merlin walked past her and she walked to Tails' side.

"So, you need a little more time?" she asked.

"No, I'm good," said Tails quietly. "But I do have someone else I need to visit."

"Who?" asked Lucy as Tails took her hand and started leading her deeper into the cemetery.

"A friend," said Tails shortly. A minute later, they stopped in front of another headstone. Lucy took a look at the inscription on it.

"'Knuckles'," she read. "Who's Knuckles?"

"He was a close friend of mine," said Tails quietly. "He was killed three years ago when this whole mess started."

"Oh, he was the guardian dude?" asked Lucy.

"Yeah," chuckled Tails bitterly. "That was, like, his number one priority, protecting Angel Island and that emerald. Now it's being guarded by echidnas who were employed to do that. Sonic checks in on that every now and again."

"What happened?" asked Lucy. "I mean, the official story was that he was killed in a gas explosion or something, but they way you said 'when this whole mess started' made it sound like there was more to it; like his death wasn't an accident."

"It wasn't," said Tails, shaking his head slightly. "He was killed by an old acquaintance of Dragon's. Well, when I say 'acquaintance', I mean someone he worked with once. Robotnik had hired him to kill Knuckles after he had hired Nate to kill me. The guy booby-trapped the door to Knuckles' hotel room with a bomb."

"Ah," said Lucy with a nod.

"Seems like such a long time ago," said Tails quietly. He sighed heavily and walked to the headstone, leaving the bouquet and walking back to Lucy's side. "I miss ya, Knux." He and Lucy stood there in silence for a minute before Tails took her hand softly and turned away from the grave, her at his side as he led her out of the cemetery.

* * *

><p>"So, why did you clone that fox brat's phone, Master?" asked Jeremy as he and Spencer watched Dragon lazily as he tapped away on a cell phone in his hands.<p>

"Because I needed to send some messages in his name," said Dragon somewhat impatiently. "You two are sure that he's out looking for me right now?"

"Yes, Master," said Spencer, kneeling slightly.

"Good," said Dragon, still tapping on the phone. "That means I can roll my plan forward."

"What's the plan?" asked Jeremy confusedly.

"Just wait and see," said Dragon quietly as he closed the phone and stood up from the chair he was sitting in. "Now, time to do some fancy work with my computer." Jeremy and Spencer watched as he walked past them and away into the darkness behind them.

* * *

><p>Sonic was running down Main Street in Station Square when he felt his phone vibrate in the anklet-strap he kept it in. He slowed quickly to a stop at a street corner and took his phone out. He looked at the screen and found an alert telling him he had received a text message from Tails.<p>

The text message was Tails saying he had found Dragon's hideout and telling Sonic to meet him there. An address for an old, condemned factory in Mobotropolis followed the message. Sonic was gone in a second, heading for the factory faster than sound itself.

* * *

><p>Lucy was in a shop looking at a rack of clothes when her phone rang in her pocket. She took it out and found the same message Sonic had found, but with the addition of Tails telling her not to call him, as he was sneaking around Dragon's factory and needed to be quiet. Lucy was out the doors of the clothing store in the blink of an eye.<p>

* * *

><p>"Okay, hunny, just..." her voice trailed off as she thought of what to say to Sonic, who had called her to tell he about Tails' news. "Just be careful, okay?" She went silent as she listened for a second. "Okay, good luck, Sonic." She took the phone from her ear and hung up. As she hung up, she turned her head at the sound of the front door opening. She watched as Tails walked in and plopped down on the lounge chair next to the door.<p>

"Tails," she said, surprised. He looked up at her.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"What are you doing here?" asked Sally confusedly.

"Taking a break from the hunt," sighed Tails, letting his head drop back into the pillow behind him. "I. Have gotten. Nowhere."

"Then why did Sonic just call me and tell me you told him you found Dragon?" asked Sally somewhat worriedly.

"He what, now?" asked Tails, jerking his gaze up at her in surprise.

"Yeah, he just called and said he was going to meet you at a condemned factory downtown for the takedown," explained Sally quickly. Tails took out his phone and dialed quickly. He put the phone to his ear and listened for a second before hanging up.

"His phone's disconnected," he said worriedly. "Oh, shit." He ran out the door quickly without another word, hoping he still had time to save his brother's life.

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Uh-oh! Can Tails get to Sonic and Lucy in time? What does Dragon have in store for them? Will this be the final standoff between Dragon and Tails? Well, I can answer the last one for you. Yes, it will. I'm afraid that the story is coming to a close soon. This will probably be the penultimate chapter. But don't worry, I have some other story ideas I'm working on, so watch out for those. Anyway, same ol' drill now. Review, favorite, alert, tell friends, and never smell a kangaroo's breath for a dare. Seeya!<br>**


	12. Victor: Part 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, there. New chapter up already. I got this one done quick. Ish. Anyway, this one is one of my shorter chapters and the reason I wrote it so short was simply for the sake of a good cliffhanger. So, no, this isn't the last chapter, there's still one more after this, so yay! So, read and enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Sonic started to slow drastically as he saw the factory start to come into view. He didn't want to tip Dragon off with the sound of his top speed. He stopped abruptly at a door in the side of the building. He grabbed the handle and pulled hard, but the door wouldn't open. He stepped back and got ready to spin-dash the door down, but stopped at the last second at the sound of a loud whisper.<p>

"Sonic!" Sonic turned to see Lucy walking up to him, trying to be as quiet as possible. "Don't do that. It's too loud. You'll tip him off."

"How did you get here so quickly?" asked Sonic quietly.

"I was at a clothing store down the street," explained Lucy.

"Okay, so, how would you open a locked door?" asked Sonic, crossing his arms skeptically. She gave him a smart smile and snapped her fingers with a small flourish. The door automatically opened up as she snapped her fingers and she caught it behind her without turning to look at it.

"Satisfied?" she asked smartly.

"Show off," said Sonic with a slightly annoyed smile as he walked in the door. He found himself in a dark hallway, but that's all he could see for the time being as his eyes hadn't adjusted to the darkness in the hallway. Sonic started to walk down the hallway as he heard the door shut and Lucy walk to his side. The rest of the light in the hallway disappeared as the door closed, making it harder for the pair of Mobians to see.

"So, where do you think Dragon is-" he was cut off as he ran into another figure that was standing in his way. He could feel fur and he heard a soft grunt from the person he ran into, but he was the only one that was moved in the collision. The living wall in front of him stayed perfectly in place as Sonic backed up slightly out of surprise.

"Well, did you find me quicker than you expected, Sonic?" asked a malicious voice in the darkness.

"Huh?" asked Sonic in confusion as he squinted in the dark to try and see in front of him. Then, suddenly, he was blinded with light as the sound of a large switch being thrown echoed through the hallway and the lights on the ceiling sparked to life. He looked up, squinting now because of the bright light. He could barely see Dragon, but he saw the evil smile on his face as he looked at Sonic in front of him.

"Get him," he said shortly with a nod. Sonic barely had time to process what was just said before he felt someone grab his shoulder from behind. The next thing he knew, his entire body was seized up as he felt a burning, tingling sensation rush through him from his shoulder. He fell to the floor slowly, convulsing slightly as he did, and blacked out as his head hit the ground.

* * *

><p>Tails ran at top speed, almost rivaling Sonic in his running. He saw the factory coming up to him fast, but didn't slow down. He knew exactly where they were in the building and he couldn't afford to take his time with being sneaky.<p>

* * *

><p>"Hey, blue boy, wakey, wakey," Sonic woke up on a cold, metal-grate floor with a splitting headache. He opened his eyes and saw that there was a strange, green glow. He couldn't make anything else out as his vision was still coming into focus. After everything had focused, he saw he was in some kind of chemical plant. He looked at the grate he was laying on and saw the source of the room's eerie glow. The grating he was lying on was a platform bridge that was built over a chemical vat that was filled with a strange, slightly foul-smelling, glowing liquid.<p>

"Where am I?" Sonic asked with a small groan. He was answered by someone grabbing him by the scruff of his neck. He was pulled up to his feet with a hard yank and he felt something small push up against his throat.

"You're in the factory you tried to break into," answered an evil, familiar voice. Sonic turned his head to see a black dog sauntering into view in front of him, smiling casually as he stared at Sonic.

"You bastard," growled Sonic angrily as he tried to attack the dog. Dragon reached out at Sonic and Sonic found that he couldn't move his feet on account of them being stuck to the floor by an invisible force.

"Did you guys just decide that that would be your universal name for me?" asked Dragon with a cocked eyebrow. "What happened to 'Dragon'? I liked that name. I mean, I know you didn't come up with it, but still..." He gave Sonic a mock-confused look.

"Okay, how about 'Joshua'?" asked Sonic smartly. Dragon raised his eyebrows slightly at the sound of his name. "Yeah, Lucy told us about you." Dragon shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don't care," he said indifferently.

"So, what'd you do with Lucy?" asked Sonic somewhat angrily.

"Well, I'm right here, Sonic," a voice said quietly in his ear. He recognized Lucy's voice. "Now, try not to resist too much. I'd _hate_ to have to hurt you." Her voice was layered with almost as much malice as Dragon's. He looked down at what was pushed up against his neck and found that it was Lucy's finger. "One wrong move and I slit your throat."

"You bitch," whispered Sonic angrily. "Tails trusted you. He's gonna kill you when he gets here. Well, screw that, I'll kill you myself first-"

"I handed your ass to you on a silver platter, Sonic," said Lucy with a chuckle. "Twice. I'm not scared of you OR Tails." She pressed her finger into his throat. She looked to Dragon. "How long 'til the fox gets here?" Dragon turned away from them and put his nose in the air. He inhaled deeply and chuckled softly.

"He's here," he said evilly. He turned to look at Lucy and Sonic. "Right on schedule."

"What, you can smell him?" asked Sonic with a cocked eyebrow.

"No, I can sense him," said Dragon quietly. "Same way I knew _you_ were here. He's coming. Fast. Very fast. Y'know, Sonic, you two should-" He was cut off by the sound of the doors in front of him being blasted off their hinges. The door-blast created a large cloud of dust, out of which Tails flew like a missile. He hit Dragon at full speed and tackled the dog to the ground, putting a finger up to his neck.

"The first words that come out of your mouth better be 'Sonic is alive'," said Tails threateningly.

"Don't worry, he is," said Dragon casually, clearly not fazed by Tails' threat. "But he won't be if you kill me."

"Why? Who's gonna kill him?" asked Tails challengingly. "Jeremy? Spencer? That's rich. I can kick their asses with my hands _and_ feet tied behind my back."

"No, even better," said Dragon with an amused smile. He pointed in front Tails. Tails looked up and saw Lucy holding Sonic by the scruff of the neck with her finger at his throat.

"Lucy?" Tails muttered out of surprise.

"Yep," said Dragon. Then he grabbed Tails by the neck and slammed him to the ground on his back. Tails let out a sharp yelp of pain. Dragon let go of him and stood up. He snapped his fingers and Jeremy and Spencer appeared from behind Lucy and Sonic and walked over to Tails, pulling him to his feet, in a very ungentle way, and forcing him to his knees. They kept hold of him so he couldn't move. Tails looked up at the fox he thought he could trust; the fox he thought he might actually _love_.

"Lucy," he repeated the name with a slight whimper. "Why?"

"I can't believe you actually trusted her," said Dragon with a chuckle. "Y'know, when I captured you, my original plan was to keep you prisoner and kill you when I had taken over and make you an example to my new, psychic empire. She, however, wanted to keep you alive. She liked you. But imagine how she felt when she found out you'd been playing us all for fools with the intent to turn on us during the siege?" Dragon turned to look at Tails. "Well, let's just say that she wanted to kill you herself. But, as the protective father I am, I told her I'd take care of everything for her. Then I took her idea to a whole new level. And she. Loved. It."

"That true, Lucy?" asked Tails sadly, looking at her pleadingly. She only stared at him vacantly as a response. Tails looked down at the floor. A single tear rolled down his muzzle and splashed on the floor. "So, what happens now?" Tails looked up at Dragon defeatedly.

"Well, now," started Dragon, walking up to Tails, towering over the teenage fox. "Now, I'm gonna make you watch your best friend die. Then I'm gonna dump you and his body on the street to be found by the press."

"If you think I'm gonna _watch_-" Tails started to growl angrily.

"Oh, you _will_ watch," Dragon cut him off shortly. Suddenly, Tails could only keep his eyes closed long enough to blink. He also found that he couldn't turn his gaze away from Sonic and Lucy. Dragon turned away and walked towards the fox and hedgehog. "Lucy, you want the first go at it?" Lucy replied only with a smile as Dragon walked past the two and out of sight.

Suddenly, the large room was filled with noise as Sonic started to scream in pain as Lucy started to trace her finger down his arm. Following her finger was a trail of blood that started to grow and run down Sonic's entire arm. Sonic's pained screams only intensified as Lucy worked her way down his arm. Tails watched in horror, trying as hard as he could to turn away from the sight of his best friend, his brother, being tortured by the girl he told his friend's that they could trust; the girl he thought he could trust with his life. He felt tears streaming down his face, soaking the fur under his eyes.

Finally, Sonic's screams started to quiet down as Lucy finished, retracing the path her finger had taken down his arm. As she ran her finger back up his arm, the long slash closed up, stopping the bleeding and leaving no trace that it was there. She let him go and walked out of sight and Sonic fell to his knees, breathing labouredly and struggling to stay up on his knees as his arms trembled violently under him.

"Sonic," whispered Tails, choking back a sob. "I'm... I'm s-so sorry."

"No, l- little buddy," said Sonic between heavy breaths. "It's not- (huff) Your fault."

"No, it is, Miles," said Dragon as he stepped into view again. "Here you sit, unharmed, watching your friend die when you can stop it. But you let it continue. You let it go on for your own life."

"Watching me die?" huffed Sonic. "What- (huff) Are you talking- (huff) About? You think- (huff) That's all I can- (huff) Take?"

"Well, I guess we'll just have to see exactly how much blood you can lose before you die," said Dragon observantly. "Unless your _friend_, here, can work up the courage to save you."

"Don't listen to him, Tails," said Sonic, regaining his breath slightly. "There's no guar- guarantee that he'll let me l- live if you let him kill you. If there's a ch- chance one of us can live to fight another day, we need t- to make sure that happens. If we're gone, there's no one to stand in his way."

"Sure, go ahead, Miles," said Dragon. "If you can stand to watch your friend die slowly in front of you."

"Okay, stop!" said Tails shortly. The room fell silent on his command and all eyes were directed at him. Lucy came into view and was watching him intently. "That's. Enough." Tails concentrated as hard as he could at concentrating as much power as he could into his arms and hands, releasing it and electrocuting Jeremy and Spencer into unconsciousness. Then he threw his hand out at Dragon and Dragon was blasted off his feet and sent flying out of view, deeper into the chamber.

Tails turned his attention towards Lucy, who was holding Sonic by his neck. Sonic was bracing for the killing blow, wincing slightly as he readied for the black oblivion to swallow him up as the blood ran out of his neck. When it never came, he looked at Lucy. He and Tails both watched as Lucy seemed to struggle to keep her hand at Sonic's neck. Her face conveyed extreme frustration, like she was fighting herself about whether or not to kill Sonic.

Tails threw his hand out at her and she was pushed to the ground. Tails ran up to Sonic as he stumbled back with Lucy. Tails caught him and brought him back onto his feet.

"You alright?" asked Tails quietly.

"Yeah, I'm getting better," said Sonic.

"Can you run?" asked Tails quickly.

"Yeah, I can," said Sonic. "But I'm not leaving you here and you're not leaving. We need to finish this here."

"No, I need you to distract Dragon while I take care of Lucy," said Tails quickly. "You think you can keep him off my tails?"

"Yeah," said Sonic with a wink. "Just don't take too long and don't get killed."

"You too," said Tails with a smile. "And don't worry; it shouldn't be too hard to take Dragon down. He's a bit preoccupied with something else." He looked over his shoulder at Lucy who was getting up off the floor. "I think."

"Alright," said Sonic. He darted off at top speed. Tails swore that, if hadn't just watched it happen, he never would have guessed that Sonic had just had his entire arm sliced open and drained of blood.

"Damn, he heals fast," remarked Tails thoughtfully. Then he turned around when he heard the sound of quick footsteps behind him. He had just enough time to duck a telekinetic punch that had been thrown at his face by the angry she-fox. "Lucy!" Tails held his forearm out to telekinetically shield himself from the next punch she threw at him. "I know this isn't you!" He jumped back as she shot a lightning bolt at his feet. "I know you're being controlled by Dragon!" She stopped suddenly in the middle of drawing her hand back to throw another punch. "I figured it out when I saw that you couldn't kill Sonic after I threw Dragon across the room. You were fighting it." Tails started to reach for her head. "You just need to fight it long enough for me to break it for you." He almost had his hands around her head when she grabbed his wrists and twisted them in. Tails wrenched his wrists out of her grasp and stumbled to the ground as he tried to duck a roundhouse kick she launched at his face. "Okay then." Tails rolled back and onto his feet, taking a combative stance. "I guess I'll just have to beat you to free you." He threw a punch at her, which she blocked with a punch of her own. "Well, you're gonna get that sparring match you wanted."

* * *

><p>Sonic ran like a bullet as he traveled to where Dragon was standing up after being thrown across the room by Tails. He was right on target as he approached the black-furred dog. He was about to take the dog back down to the ground when he heard a low rumbling around him. Then he felt a shockwave hit him and he was thrown into the air. He flew straight into a wall. His breath was knocked out of him and he slid down the wall to the floor.<p>

"I finally see why Robotnik hated you all so much," Sonic felt a strange force grasp his entire torso like a giant hand. "You guys are just a huge _pain in the ass_." Sonic gasped for breath as he was roughly lifted into the air and slammed into the wall he had just slid down. "I mean, you're a resistance group, that's annoying enough. 'The Freedom Fighters'. But you just _don't_ give up. You're all so damn persistent. There is no breaking your spirits. Which is why I think my next offer won't yield the result I desire."

"What... Offer?" asked Sonic, having trouble inhaling from the grasp on his torso.

"Okay, I'm gonna give you a choice," said Dragon quietly. "See, there's no way that you will walk away from this alive. Now, you can choose whether you can die painlessly and quickly, or agonizingly and slowly. I could put you to sleep. You'd simply slip away and never wake up. Or, we could fight this out, me being a psychic and you running everywhere. I'd win. Then I would torture you to death, nice and slow, all the while making your precious little brother watch."

"If I give up, you'll still kill me in front of Tails," growled Sonic angrily. "Either way, you torture him. The least I could do for him is put up a decent fight against that."

"You stubborn fool!" exclaimed Dragon frustratedly. "You've lost. Why can't you just accept that and make it easy on yourself?"

"Never. Gonna. Happen," said Sonic. Then, to Dragon's surprise, he rolled into a spin-dash and buzz-sawed straight at Dragon, who stepped aside with a little less than a second to spare. The next second, Dragon turned around to see that Sonic was gone.

"Fine then!" shouted Dragon into the large room. "It was your choice!" He looked across the room to see Tails and Lucy fighting on another network of platform bridges on the other side of the room. "Time to end that fight. Then I can use the fox to end this fight."

* * *

><p>Tails tripped over his feet as he tried to duck another punch from Lucy. He had noticed that she had become considerably more aggressive than before. He tried to shove out at Lucy, but was stopped by the tip of a high-top shoe impacting with the center of his abdomen.<p>

"Oh, god," gasped Tails as he inched away from Lucy as fast as he could. He rolled over backward and came face to face with Lucy, who had a fist drawn back, preparing to throw another punch. This time Tails leapt backwards, away from the punch, dodging it. Then he charged up as much energy as he could and released it on her. She was thrown off her feet and sent flying through the air down to the other side of the bridge.

Tails glanced to the other side of the plant and saw Dragon standing alone, completely still, watching the fight silently, focused.

"Yo! Sonic!" yelled Tails loudly as he turned his attention back to Lucy, who was now up on her feet again and rushing at him. Tails pushed himself into the air with a telekinetic boost, lunging through the air with his tails, flying over Lucy's head as she ran the opposite direction under him. He landed on the bridge, running down it, away from Lucy. "I need him distracted! He's controlling Lucy! If you leave him alone, he's gonna use her to kick my ass!"

Tails looked behind him to find Lucy aiming a kick at him, which landed a blow on the shoulder Nate had shot at the cafe three years previously. He felt his entire shoulder and upper arm explode with pain. He yelped sharply as he fell to the ground, looking up at Lucy, who was standing over him malevolently.

"It's time to end this, Miles," she said coldly. She knelt down by him and drew back a fist. Tails closed his eyes and braced for the blackout. Right when he thought the punch was going to come, the air was rent by a loud, high-pitched screech. Tails opened his eyes, directing his attention at the other side of the plant where he had seen Dragon, only in Dragon's place stood Sonic, who was in a crouched, kneeling position, breathing heavily and looking at the wall. Then Tails noticed Dragon on the ground by the wall Sonic was staring at.

Tails turned back to Lucy, who was frozen in mid punch as she tried to fight the extensive mind control that Dragon had placed on her. Tails took the opportunity to jump at her, reaching out to put his hands on each side of her head, ignoring the fiery pain in his shoulder as he reached out. His hands closed around her head and he tackled her to the ground, shoving himself into her mind with the force of a full-scale invasion.

* * *

><p>Sonic watched as Dragon slowly got up, dusting himself off as he did. He looked up at Sonic. Sonic expected him to say something. But all he did was yell out a battle cry as he launched shockwave after shockwave at the blue hedgehog. Sonic was barely able to jump out of the way of the first shockwave and was able to gain enough speed to dodge the rest of the assault. He ran down the length of the plant away from Dragon and made a sharp U-turn back at Dragon. No sooner than when he had turned to make the one-eighty rotation was he met by a telekinetic shockwave that blasted him off his feet and flung him across to the other side of the room. He landed on the ground floor below the bridges with a loud THUD.<p>

"Man, how did I miss that one?" Sonic grumbled to himself. Then he grabbed his head as it exploded with pain.

"You didn't miss anything, Sonic," Dragon's malicious voice echoed inside Sonic's head. "As long as I can read your mind, I can see your every move. You ready to give up?"

"No," Sonic growled to himself. "I think that I can run faster than you can read my thoughts."

"Okay," Dragon said inside Sonic's mind. "So be it." Sonic took off at top speed, jumping up onto the bridge network again. He ran directly at Dragon, planning his attack.

_Alright_, Sonic thought as he ran. _I'm gonna run right up to him, then I'm gonna turn at the last second and flank him._ Sonic smiled as he ran. He saw Dragon getting closer and closer to him as he ran towards the dog. Dragon just stood there, waiting until Sonic was in reach to strike.

Sonic got to the point where he planned on turning to fool Dragon; about five feet in front of the dog. He knew that turning that sharply to strike at Dragon quick enough to beat the black dog's defense was gonna be a big challenge for him.

He rolled up into a spin-dash, preparing to attempt the almost impossible half-circle turn. But as he was about to turn, he stopped himself and kept going head on at the psychic dog.

Dragon turned to blast the hedgehog out from behind him, expecting the hedgehog to be speeding at his side, only to realize, as Sonic made contact with his front, that the hedgehog hadn't turned at all, and instead kept following his original approach.

Sonic bounced off of Dragon and flew away to a different part of the room while Dragon was blasted off his feet and into the wall behind him. The wall folded under him on impact and he was left stuck in a large dent he had made.

Sonic landed on the ground under the bridges next to the network that Tails and Lucy were fighting on. He stood up and smiled smartly to himself.

"How do you like them apples?" Sonic murmured quietly under his breath with a cocky tone. "You ready for more?"

"Bring it," groaned Dragon's voice inside Sonic's head.

* * *

><p>Tails fought hard against the control that Dragon had over Lucy's mind, struggling both mentally and physically to keep hold of Lucy's head as she retaliated against him in the same way. Tails felt her fighting back against him, panicking as she tried to gain control of herself over Tails' and Dragon's will. Tails had no intention of remaining in control of Lucy, but Lucy was freaking out. And Tails couldn't blame her. Three different personalities fighting for control inside one mind couldn't be healthy or comfortable in any way.<p>

Tails felt a foot come up against his chest, ready to push him off of the struggling fox. Then a loud crash rang out through the plant and the foot fell back to the floor as Tails felt Lucy relax in his grasp. Thankful that Sonic was doing his job of distracting Dragon, Tails slowly flooded himself into Lucy's mind as Dragon's telepathic defenses relaxed. That's when he realized something. He could feel Lucy inside her head. He didn't just feel her struggling deep under his telepathic fight with Dragon, he felt what she felt. He felt the fear and pain she felt about everyone being crammed inside her head, he felt the anger she felt towards Dragon for taking control of her, he felt the sadness and guilt she felt for all the things she was being forced to do, and he felt the worthlessness she felt about letting it happen to her in the first place.

Then he started seeing the memories. He saw her with Sonic as they snuck into the factory together. He felt her confusion as she ran into Sonic in the pitch dark and knocked him out, following Dragon's one command against her will. Then as she felt him grasp her with his hands to invade her mind, taking advantage of the weakness in her defenses that the confusion had left.

Then more memories started to pop into his head. He saw Dragon in front of him, hugging a fox that looked exactly like Lucy, only a bit older. He felt happiness bubble up inside him as he watched his parents on the couch together. No, wait, his parents? No, HER parents. Then everything changed.

The vision of the loving couple popped out and was replaced by the sight of the same fox from before, only she was lying on the floor in a pool of blood and a black dog stood over her with a knife, smiling maniacally. He felt Lucy's fear and grief and pain as she looked into her mother's blank, dead eyes. He was reminded of how he felt as he watched his own father die in his arms.

Tails opened his eyes and looked down at the fox under him, who was kicking and flailing in fear and pain from the fight inside her head. She was hysterical. There were tears streaming down her face and she was breathing quickly and shallowly. Tails wanted nothing more than to comfort her, to wrap his arms around her and calm her down, to make the horrible memories that were surfacing in her mind go away. Then he had an idea. That's exactly what he would do, only he would do it one step better.

Tails grasped her head more tightly and brought his face to hers, meeting her lips with his as he pushed himself further into her mind, forcing more of Dragon out. He felt more memories surface. The first night they had gone out, the fun they had had, the kiss they had shared on the roof over the apartment terrace. They all came flooding to surface, banishing the horrors of Lucy's childhood away, along with Dragon.

Finally, Tails felt the mental and physical struggle against him calm down as Dragon was forced completely out of her mind. Then Tails retreated out of her mind as well and opened his eyes, releasing her from his grasp. He looked down at the tear-stained face of the fox under him and met her relieved gaze with a soft smile.

"Thank God," she whispered in relief. Then she sat up and wrapped her arms around his torso tightly. "Oh, Tails, I'm so sorry. I can't believe I let him get me. It was just so dark, and then the bright light and I was-"

"It's fine," Tails cut her off simply, returning the embrace. "It's fine. You're safe now. He can't control you anymore."

* * *

><p>Sonic ran as fast as he could to dodge Dragon's attacks. He could tell that the dog was getting more and angrier as their battle progressed. Dragon was attacking more frequently and more aggressively than before. Sonic guessed that this was due to the annoyance caused by the fact that he had been able to counter Dragon's mind-reading strategy. Though, getting around it wasn't as easy as Sonic made it look. He was constantly making sure that he was changing his mind, making split-second decisions and changing his strategy at the last second. He also had to make his mental trickery more elaborate as Dragon wizened up to his strategy. Now he was running out of ideas and Dragon was getting closer to actually hitting the blue blur.<p>

Sonic was turning around to make another rush at the dog when he saw him grab his head in surprise and fall to his knees, screaming loudly out of anger and frustration. Sonic stopped and watched the dog as he hunched over and yelled angrily at the air. Then he silenced and calmed down for a moment, pausing blankly to think. Then he gave an angry shout and threw his hand out, launching a shockwave out towards where Tails and Lucy were... Hugging? Sonic couldn't tell, but they weren't going to be hugging much longer unless he did something.

"TAILS! LUCY! MOVE!" Sonic kicked it into high gear and bolted for the two foxes, hoping that he could save them in time. Then he felt a sharp thud strike his chest. Then another. And another. He started to feel somewhat lightheaded as he tripped over his feet and hit the ground running.

* * *

><p>"TAILS! LUCY! MOVE!" The two foxes jerked their heads up at the sound of Sonic's loud warning. They saw the shockwave speeding towards them. Tails hugged Lucy to his chest and hit the floor, kicking his feet off the floor with a telekinetic boost. He watched, as they slid across the floor, as the bridge that they had just been on was ripped apart by the train-like projectile that Dragon had launched.<p>

Then Tails' attention was directed towards the sound of a sharp, sickening thud; one that was all too familiar. As he turned his gaze towards the sound, he heard two more thuds just like the first. He saw Sonic, stumbling over his own feet, blood running from three wounds in his chest. He watched Sonic fall to the ground and roll roughly to a stop.

"HAHA! I DID IT!" yelled a familiar voice. "I KILLED SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!" Everyone turned their attention to the voice. They saw Jeremy holding his fist in the air triumphantly with an evilly excited expression on his face. Spencer stood next to him, jumping in the air excitedly.

Tails didn't even think about what he was doing. He just reached out in front of him, fingers out in the shape of a gun. He fired off seven shots at the pair. He watched as their chests both exploded with blood in different places and they fell to the ground, shock etched into their faces as they dropped dead.

Then Tails stood up and pulled back his hand, charging it up to a very dangerous level. He turned to Dragon, who was smiling at the angry fox with a wildly happy smile. He threw his hand out and a bolt of lightning immediately struck out at the dog. Dragon threw his hand out and the lighting spread out and around the dog, following the surface of the shield he had erected. Then Dragon punched the air behind him and a giant, gaping hole was blasted out of the wall behind him. He laughed sadistically and ran out of the building.

Tails ignored the dog's escape and twisted his tails up, taking to the air and zooming to the fallen hedgehog, hoping that his brother was still alive.

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ooh! Cliffhanger! Haha! Okay, sadistic joy relished. Nice chapter, though, right? Is Sonic alive? Will Dragon escape? Find out soon. I'll try to update ASAP. But, until then, same routine: Review, favorite, alert, tell friends, and never let your dog swim in a pool of gravy with blue pool floaties. Seeya!<br>**


	13. Victor: Part 2

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here it is! The conclusion to On The Run. So, now you can stop dangling on that cliffhanger I left you in last time. Read and Enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>"SONIC!" Sonic groaned from the sharp pain in his chest. He opened his eyes and saw Tails leaning over him.<p>

"Tails," he whispered dazedly. "Wha- What happened?"

"Jeremy shot you," said Tails quickly. He was busy trying to apply pressure to the wounds in his chest. He had a hand on two of the wounds and Lucy was taking care of the last one. Sonic craned his neck to see the damage done to his chest.

"Oh, hey, Lucy," he said quietly. "You back with us now?"

"Yeah, sorry about the arm earlier," said Lucy. "I tried to fight it, but Dragon's strong."

"And sadistic," replied Sonic. He gasped sharply out of pain. "That hurt like hell. And I was _so_ dizzy afterwards."

"Okay, Lucy called the medics," said Tails. He looked over the wounds in the hedgehog's chest. "They should be here soon. And these wounds don't look very deep. Lucy, I'm gonna go ahead and leave him to you."

"And do what?" asked Lucy.

"Go after Dragon," said Tails as he stood up.

"But he's already escaped," said Lucy.

"No, he just moved the fight," said Tails. "He's not gonna leave now."

"How do you know that?" asked Lucy quickly.

"Because I know how he works," explained Tails. "He'll be waiting for me."

"And if you're wrong?" asked Lucy.

"Then he'll show up again and we need to be ready when he does," said Tails with a shrug. "But I want to end this _now_, so that's what I'm gonna try to do."

"Okay," said Lucy. She stood up in front of him, wiping the blood on her hands on the front of her shirt. She put her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "Good luck." She pulled him closer and kissed him on the cheek, wrapping her arms around him. She released him and he brought her back into a hug, careful not to get any more of Sonic's blood on her shirt.

"Hey, guys?" groaned the wounded hedgehog on the floor, breaking the silence.

"Right, sorry," said Lucy quickly, ducking out of Tails' embrace and crouching next to Sonic again, putting her hands on two of the wounds again. Then the sound of trampling feet became apparent from outside the door. The medics were coming.

"I promise I'll get you a new shirt," Tails told Lucy quietly. Then he looked down at Sonic. "Good luck, big bro." The two Mobians exchanged a fist-bump and the fox started to walk away, but stopped and turned back around. "Lucy, I need you to do a couple things for me."

"What?" she asked without looking up at the fox.

"First, I need you to call Nate and Shadow, tell them to meet me for the fight," said Tails.

"Where do I tell them to meet you?" asked Lucy.

"If they can't find a giant, psychic battle raging in the middle of downtown Mobotropolis, I'll assume they've been struck blind and deaf," said Tails shortly. Lucy nodded thoughtfully. "Second, I need you to tell Elias to run an evacuation notice for Mobotropolis. I don't want bystanders. Third, I need you to tell him not to send in military or police."

"Why not?" asked Lucy.

"Because Dragon will _slaughter_ them for fun," explained Tails coldly.

"Why won't he do the same to you, at this point?" asked Lucy, looking up at him with a challenging glance.

"Because there are always more military stooges to kill off for sport," said Tails. "But there is only one of me to toy with." Lucy shifted her glance back down to Sonic. "Can you do that for me?"

"Sure," said Lucy quietly. "Now go. He probably won't wait for long." Tails turned back to the hole in the wall that Dragon had escaped through. He looked down at his bloody, gloved hands. He removed the gloves and dropped them to the floor. "If you ask me to take those to the cleaners, I'll kill you for Dragon." Tails smirked to himself, holding back a small chuckle.

"I'll see you later," said Tails. Then he turned back around once more. "And Lucy?" She looked up at him again questioningly. "I love you." She dropped her jaw slightly, speechless, as he turned back to the hole in the wall, twisted his tails behind him, and dashed across the room and out into the sky.

The silence in the room was broken by the sound of a small army of men rushing in. Four were medics that were rolling a gurney in for Sonic. The rest were officers armed with assault rifles that were slung over their shoulders. They came to Lucy and the medics took over helping Sonic. Lucy took one of the guards aside.

"I need you to take me to the king as fast as possible," she told him urgently.

* * *

><p>Tails flew over the skyline of Mobotropolis, looking for signs of Dragon anywhere. He knew the dog would leave him a noticeable clue as to where their battle would take place.<p>

He landed on the roof of a skyscraper to look around. No sooner had he touched down than an explosion rocked the building from the streets below. Tails ran over the edge and drifted down the side of the building. He saw the ground coming and landed in a crouch. He stood up quickly and looked around for the dog that he was sure caused the explosion. His attention was jerked from the chaos that had ensued due to the explosion by a loud, maniacal cackle behind him. He turned to see Dragon smiling sadistically and laughing loudly, though at what, Tails couldn't tell.

"What's so funny, Dragon?" asked Tails shortly.

"This!" he said happily. "All of this!" He gestured up at the sky. "This whole situation went so much better than I had hoped!"

"How?" asked Tails slowly, trying to figure out in what way things went in Dragon's favor.

"Okay," started Dragon eagerly. "I planned to make you watch _your_ own girlfriend kill _your_ best friend."

"Instead, I took my girlfriend back and your only two henchmen died trying to kill my best friend," finished Tails. Then he added, "And I still saved Sonic."

"Exactly!" said Dragon, still as eager as before. "You just explained the best part. My two henchmen are dead." Tails cocked an eye brow at him in confusion. "At whose hand?" Dragon raised his eyebrows at the fox and smiled even more widely. "_Yours_!"

Tails' jaw dropped slightly in surprise. Dragon was right. He had _killed_ Jeremy and Spencer. He hadn't even thought about it since he had done it. He had just shot them dead and forgot about them.

"You didn't even care, did you?" asked Dragon happily. "You just killed them in cold blood."

"They shot Sonic, I was defending my friend," said Tails quietly. "I'm not guilty of any crime. They made their choice, they took the consequences."

"Well, sure, you're not guilty as far as the legal system is concerned," said Dragon casually. "But can you live with yourself? Those two boys were your age. Their whole lives were ahead of them-"

"They threw their lives away when they decided to join your ranks," interrupted Tails firmly.

"But they wouldn't have gone to prison forever," said Dragon. "And who knows what they could have done when they got out. Oh, yeah, that's right. No one knows, thanks to you." Tails balled his hands into fists, glaring at Dragon angrily. Then Dragon took on a slightly more serious expression, but the evilly giddy glint in his eye didn't go away. "Two, misguided kids who just ran with the wrong person and you killed them." The dog clapped his hands together and his happy expression returned as he stepped towards Tails. "So, Miles Prower." He had now adopted the voice of a game show announcer. "You just killed two people! What are you gonna do now?" He raised his eyebrows and smiled. Tails narrowed his eyes and looked the dog in the eye.

"I'm gonna add a third to the list," growled the angry fox.

"That's what I like to hear," said Dragon quietly and eagerly. Tails jumped at Dragon, who grabbed him by his shoulders and pushed him aside, sending him flying by Dragon's side and to the ground. He landed on his stomach with a pained grunt. Then the air was pierced by the sound of a high-pitched siren, signaling to the citizens that they needed to evacuate the area. "You called for an evac?" Dragon looked around at the people that were now flooding out of the buildings around them. "Smart move." Then he aimed a kick at Tails' stomach that caused the fox to seize up in pain. He was getting annoyed with all the kicks to the stomach he was getting today.

"I'm gonna kill you, Dragon," Tails said hatefully. "I'm gonna beat you down and shoot you between the eyes."

"Tough talk," remarked Dragon, bending down to speak to Tails. "Angry talk. Why are you so angry with me, Miles? Because I killed your parents?" Dragon flashed a sadistic smile. "Okay, well, what if I were to give you something to remember them by? Kind of like a memento. Would that help make peace between us?"

"I guarantee that it won't," growled Tails as he tried to sit up, only to be pushed back down to the ground by Dragon.

"Well, I'll give it a try anyway," he said casually. "See, I was there in the cemetery when you were with your uncle. I heard what he said to you. And you know what? He was right. You do look a lot like your father. But the only major difference that I can see between your face and his is-" Dragon tapped the side of his head by his left eye. "-the eyepatch." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "You don't have one." He started speaking normally again. "So, what I'm gonna do is give you the ability to see his face every time you look in the mirror." Tails' eyes widened in horror as Dragon raised his index finger up and directed it towards Tails' face.

"No!" yelled Tails in fearful protest. "You insane bastard! Get away from me!" He concentrated hard, harnessing all the energy he could and releasing it out at everything around him. He saw the shockwave raise the dust on the ground around him and he heard it rip through the air, but Dragon was unfazed by it.

"Now, Tails, you should know that you can't get rid of me that easily," said Dragon calmly as he pressed his other hand down on Tails' chest. Tails suddenly felt his entire body become trapped to the ground by an invisible force. He couldn't move at all.

Then the air was pierced by Tails' loud, pained screams as he felt the skin above his eye being split open by Dragon. He sealed his eyes shut and did his best to telekinetically shield his eye, but he didn't know if it would be good enough to protect against Dragon.

He felt the cut extend down his eyelid and down his face slowly, finally ending somewhere near the bottom of his cheek. He opened his eyes again and found that half his vision was being obstructed by a dark red substance. His face was burning and he could feel the hot blood flowing down his face to his neck.

"Oh, looks like you're eye made it out of that unharmed," said Dragon disappointedly. "I really wasn't hoping to have to make a second cut, but looks like we have to now." Tails gritted his teeth as he felt a second cut being made in the skin above his eye, a bit to the outer side of the first one. He felt it slowly start to make its way down to his eye. He braced himself for the loss of his left-side vision, trying his best to shield his eye again, but he didn't think it would be enough this time.

"-CONTROL!" A loud BANG rang through the air and a bright flash lit up the street around them. Tails felt the cutting stop right by his eye and the hold on his body disappeared. He sat up quickly and saw, with difficulty, Shadow standing down the street from Dragon and himself. He had a glowing blue emerald hanging from a chain that was around his neck. Antoine and Nate stood on either side of him, Antoine with his sword out, ready for a fight, and Nate with a gun in each hand.

Tails took the opportunity to throw Dragon across the street with a wave of his hand. Then he got up and ran over to the three allies that had just appeared. He covered his injured eye with his hand to staunch the bleeding.

"Shadow," he said as he approached the ebony hedgehog. "Thank you so much for coming when you did. A minute later and I would have lost my eye." He lifted his hand to show them the wound. Antoine averted his gaze after one glance, Nate whistled in slight amazement, and Shadow raised his eyebrows.

"Ouch," remarked Nate. Tails winced slightly.

"Yeah, so, someone help me with this," said Tails as he covered the wound up again.

"Okay, Nate, you help him with his eye, Antoine and I will keep Dragon busy," ordered Shadow shortly. The other two nodded and Nate grabbed Tails by the shoulders and led him over to the wall of a building while Antoine and Shadow approached Dragon, who was getting back up from the ground after landing from Tails' launch.

"Okay," said Nate as he examined the wound. "Alright, I think the best thing to do would be to get you to a hospital. I'm not an expert, but I think that'd be best if you don't wanna lose that eye."

"No," said Tails firmly, wincing slightly again as he did so. "I need to stay here and fight Dragon. I'm the only one who stands a chance against him."

"Alright, but all I can do right now is bandage it," said Nate quickly. He took out a knife and cut part of the long sleeve of his shirt off. He ripped it into a long band and started to wrap it around Tails' head. "I really think you need more than a bandage, though."

"Well, it'll have to do for now," Tails said through gritted teeth as Nate tied the bandage. He stood up after Nate was finished.

"You okay enough to fight?" asked Nate as he stood up next to him.

"As okay as I can be under the circumstances," said Tails. "That's gonna have to be good enough." He turned to look at the human. "Do you think you can provide long-range attack support?"

"Yeah, but do you know how hard it is to get an opening on Dragon?" asked Nate.

"Just get one," ordered Tails. "Preferably, as incapacitating, but nonlethal, as possible." Nate chuckled bitterly.

"Okay, would you like me to jump up and fetch you the moon while I'm at it?" he asked sarcastically.

"Well, I don't need the _entire_ moon, but a couple rocks would be nice," said Tails in a deadpan tone. "I'll do my best to get you an opening, but I'd prefer him alive."

"I'll do my best to give you that, but I can't make any promises," said Nate. "Is that vision impairment going to affect your fighting?"

"Maybe a little, but I'll just have to make due," said Tails. "Now, find a vantage point and wait for an opportunity. I'm gonna go help Shadow and Antoine before Dragon tries to kill one of them."

"Good idea," said Nate shortly as he walked across the street and into the front door of a building.

* * *

><p>Antoine yelled out French protests as he was held up in the air by Dragon. He could feel Dragon's telekinetic grasp closing in around his throat, making it difficult for him to breathe.<p>

"What did you two think, coming against me head on?" asked Dragon maliciously. "Did you really think you'd win? That you'd somehow be able to survive the attempt?"

"Allez au diable," spat out Antoine hatefully.

"Ooh, not very nice," remarked Dragon amusedly. "How about I meet you there?" He snapped his fingers and Antoine gave an ear-piercing yelp as a spasm of pain shot through his body from somewhere in his chest. He felt a hot, melting sensation wash over his front and started to become lightheaded. Then he heard what sounded like two people colliding and he felt himself drop to the ground. When he looked up, he saw Dragon on the ground. He looked down at his chest and saw a red stain blossoming from under his military uniform. The stain went down from his left shoulder to his abdominals. He could see the stain getting more and more saturated as more blood leaked from the wound. He laid his head back as he started to feel dizzy and his vision started to blur. He was barely able to make out the fox figure that came up to his side.

"Hey! Shadow! Get Antoine taken care of, here!" Tails shouted shortly. He walked up to the unconscious coyote's side. "I'll take care of the _mangy mutt_." Dragon sat bolt upright and looked straight at Tails.

"Back in the game, now, are you?" asked Dragon haughtily. "What's it like fighting with half your vision gone?" He stood up and took a combative stance. Tails readied himself for a fight. Shadow came up behind Tails and grabbed onto Antoine.

"CHAOS-!" They disappeared in a bright flash. Then, no sooner than when the two Mobians disappeared, Tails and Dragon both struck at each other. Tails launched a lightning bolt at the dog while Dragon blasted out an all out shockwave, which not only redirected the lightning strike away from him, but also blew Tails off his feet and through one of the windows of the building behind him.

Tails sat up, looking out the window he had just been thrown through. He saw Dragon standing there with his arms crossed, taking an annoyingly cocky stance.

"You're fighting with one eye," stated Dragon with a chuckle. "When do you finally draw the line? When do you finally give up?"

"I don't know," said Tails shortly as he stood up, careful about the glass not the floor around him. "Never been pushed that far."

"Then I have a goal to reach, don't I?" asked Dragon smartly. Tails gave him a hateful smirk.

"You'll never push me that far," said Tails icily. Then, with a loud battle cry, he launched himself at Dragon, drawing his fist back and charging it up with enough telekinetic power to take the dog's head off, but before he could reach his target, he was stopped in midair. Not only was he stopped, he was frozen. He couldn't even move around. He looked up at Dragon, who just stared at him silently with a blank expression. Then he cracked an evil smile and waved his arm out, sending the frozen fox into a barrel roll through the air, across the room, and through another of the building's windows. Tails hit the ground with a pained grunt. He felt the broken glass dig into his back painfully. He didn't have time to worry about his back right now. He got up as quickly as he could. He looked back in through the window he had just been thrown out of and saw Dragon walking to the window, slowly and menacingly, as if to make Tails wait for him.

Tails launched a lightning bolt at Dragon. Dragon raised his hand in front of him and the lightning bolt rebounded off of an invisible shield. Tails threw everything he had at the dog. Lightning bolts, telekinetic shockwaves, slashes, punches, bullets, telepathic disruption waves; Tails tried everything, but Dragon countered it all.

Then, as Dragon stepped up to the hole where the floor-to-ceiling window that had stood where Tails had been thrown, he flicked his hand and Tails was pushed off his feet and into the wall behind him. Then, as he started to drop to his knees due to having the breath knocked out of him, he saw a black, furry hand and felt someone's fingers closing around his throat and shoving him back up against the wall. Tails gasped for air as he looked up at Dragon, who was giving him an ice cold stare.

"Okay, Tails, enough is enough," said Dragon firmly. "Look what happened to Sonic and Antoine. I know Phoenix is here somewhere and I know Shadow _will_ come back, eventually. Do you really wanna see what I'll do to them?"

"Go to hell," whispered Tails angrily.

"Really, you, too?" asked Dragon with a cocked eyebrow. "Do you guys just get together and say 'Okay, this is what we're gonna say to the enemy today'?" Tails smiled smartly at the dog. "Okay, give up now and I won't send you home with a dead comrade and one less eye." Dragon placed the tip of his finger right next to Tails' eye threateningly.

"Not gonna happen," growled Tails defiantly. "You can kiss my-" Tails was interrupted by the sharp pain of Dragon tearing into his face with his mind. Then Tails heard a loud, zooming sound and felt the fingers around his throat release and disappear and the cutting by his eye stopped.

When he opened his un-bandaged eye, Dragon had disappeared. He looked down both sides of the alley he had been thrown into. There was no sign of the dog anywhere.

"CHAOS BLAST!" Tails heard the shout echo from a distance. The shout was followed by a loud explosion. Then he heard the loud, zipping sound again and saw a black blur speed up to him. Shadow stopped on a dime in front of him.

"Nice job," said Tails as he held the bleeding on his forehead. "It's next to impossible to get a hit on him."

"You had him distracted," said Shadow quickly.

"So, did you kill him?" asked Tails.

"No, just stunned him for a minute," said Shadow quietly. "But mostly, I think I just pissed him off. He wasn't even unconscious."

"Okay, here's the plan," started Tails. "I'll distract him while you pop in with Chaos Control and get him when he least expects it."

"Okay, but I can't keep him down long enough to do any serious damage," said Shadow shortly.

"I don't need you to," said Tails as he looked down the alley to see Dragon running full speed at the two. "I just need him distracted enough that he lets his guard down for Nate." He motioned for them to start running away. "Where is Nate, anyway?" Tails looked back to fire a bolt of lightning at Dragon to try and slow him down. Dragon blocked the lightning with the flick of his wrist.

"I don't know," said Shadow plainly. "Just stay out in the open. That'll probably be enough for him."

"Okay," sighed Tails. He looked back and aimed another bolt at Dragon. Still couldn't land a hit. "Let's hope he can make a good shot with two pistols, because he's only gonna have one chance." He turned around again to see that Dragon was now catching up. Fast. "Okay, get outta here. He wants you, right now." Shadow nodded.

"CHAOS-" He disappeared in a flash and Tails skidded to a halt, finding Dragon doing the same thing right behind him. He had just enough time to duck a telekinetic punch from the dog. He also took the opportunity to roundhouse kick Dragon's legs out from under him. He fell to the ground as Tails stood back up again. Tails raised his fists over his head and brought them down to slam Dragon, only to have them suddenly make impact on an invisible shield that was erected over him. Tails recoiled as pain shot through his hands and arms. The telekinetic energy around his hands had softened the impact, but his hands still felt it.

As Tails took a step back, shaking his hands to relieve himself of the stinging pain, Dragon jumped back to his feet. Tails threw a punch at the dog, only to have it swatted away. Dragon then aimed a kick at Tails, striking him in the stomach and causing him to fall backwards as the breath was knocked out of him.

"Some friend he is, that Shadow," said Dragon with an evil chuckle. "He just left you here, all alone with the big, angry dog."

"He knows I can handle you," shot Tails, gasping slightly as he regained his breath.

"Oh, Tails," said Dragon as he bent over the fox. He put his hand over Tails' chest and Tails felt an unseen force trap him to the ground. Then Dragon raised his hand and Tails followed it up, like Dragon was carrying him with his palm. The next words that came out of Dragon's mouth lacked his usual taunting, sadistic tone; qualities that were replaced by nothing but pure rage and anger. He lifted his hand up in the air and brought it down, throwing Tails down with it. "YOU-" (SLAM) "CAN'T-" (SLAM) "HANDLE-" (SLAM) "ME!" (SLAM). Tails started gasping for breath, since the slamming had knocked it out of him again. "Do you wanna know the only reason you're still alive?" Dragon let him go and aimed a boosted kick to Tails' stomach. "You're still of use to me."

"What use am I to you?" gasped Tails with a demanding tone. Dragon changed back to his taunting, sadistic attitude and bent down to Tails' face, chuckling evilly.

"You're fun to play with," he whispered sadistically. He stood back up and started laughing. "Do you really think I could have as much fun toying with the others? Shadow, maybe. Sonic, no way. That coyote? No. The princess, maybe her, too. But you? You're the funnest."

"Why am I so 'fun'?" asked Tails through gritted teeth.

"Because I hate you the most," said Dragon shortly. "_You_ betrayed me and _you_ stole Lucy from me. Now I'm gonna torture you by killing off every single person you care about. But first, I'm gonna bring you to the brink of death and keep you there so I can make you watch _every_ single one of their deaths." He started to bend down to Tails again, placing his finger on Tails' chest. Then he stopped when Tails started laughing slightly. "What's so funny?"

"I knew that," stated Tails with a smile. "I knew that I was your favorite toy."

"Good, so, now that you're _officially_ my favorite person to torture, we can get back to said torture," said Dragon.

"No, I knew I could distract you enough to make you vulnerable from behind," explained Tails, still smiling. Then he lifted his head up and yelled as loud as he could. "SHADOW! NOW!"

"-CONTROL!" Dragon whirled around and saw Shadow appear behind him. He grabbed the hedgehog around the torso and trapped Tails to the ground.

"Good job, Tails," said Dragon. "You've now managed to lure a prime target right to me. Now I can give you a taste of what's gonna happen for the next few days, which will also be the last days of your life." Dragon turned to smile at Tails before turning back to Shadow.

* * *

><p>Nate watched as Dragon slammed Tails to the ground over and over, like dribbling a basketball really hard. He took aim and held the gun to Dragon, waiting for an opportune moment to shoot the dog. Right now wasn't a good time. He needed to wait for Dragon to split his attention more. He needed Shadow to come into the fight, and he hoped that he'd come soon. Nate didn't like trying to sneak around the streets because the fight kept moving.<p>

"-CONTROL!" The singular, shouted word echoed down the empty streets and between the tall buildings that surrounded the battle as an ebony hedgehog appeared in a bright flash. Dragon turned to the hedgehog and Nate saw him seize up like something had his chest in its grasp. But that wasn't the only thing he saw. He also saw that Dragon had both of his hands full and his back turned directly turned to Nate's gun. Nate knew that this was about as good an opportunity as he was going to get and he seized it, concentrating, aiming carefully, and pulling the trigger.

* * *

><p>Two gunshots ripped through the air, followed by two dull thuds as Dragon was hit by each bullet in the back. Tails felt the hold on him release and he took the opportunity to roundhouse kick Dragon in the stomach, causing the wounded dog to collapse to his knees in an instant.<p>

"I also knew that you'd think I was only capable of providing one distraction for you," said Tails coolly as he bent down to the dog.

"Tails, he isn't out yet," warned Shadow. "You need to kill him."

"No," said Tails firmly, not taking his eyes off of Dragon. Shadow groaned frustratedly.

"Fine, I'll do it," he said. He drew out his gun and trained it on Dragon. "I didn't think that you'd be so keen on letting the dog who killed your parents live."

"Yeah, Miles," Dragon growled as he gritted his teeth in pain. "I killed them. I took them from you. You will never see them again-"

"I'm not keeping you alive out of mercy," said Tails plainly. "I want to see you suffer."

"Ooh, that's even better," said Dragon with an evilly happy, if somewhat pained, smile. "You're gonna torture me? I _have_ been a good influence for you."

"I'm not gonna torture you," said Tails. "Not in the way you think, anyway."

"Then what?" asked Dragon, for once in his life confused as to what Tails was talking about.

"You love those psychic abilities of yours," explained Tails quietly. "You'd die without them. Or, at least, you'd want to. So I'm gonna do what you did to me." Tails raised his visible eyebrow as a sadistic smile appeared on his face. "I'm gonna take what's most precious to you." Dragon smiled back.

"How do you think you're gonna manage that?" asked Dragon challengingly. "I don't even know how to do that."

"I have an idea," said Tails. Shadow watched as Tails grabbed Dragon's head and held on tight. Then he was thrown off his feet as Dragon let out a series of shockwaves in attempt to throw Tails off of him. Tails didn't budge. He held on to the dog's head, waging a full on war inside Dragon's mind. Shadow looked up and saw that they were both on the ground, Dragon struggling and yelling to get out of Tails' grasp while Tails did the same trying to keep a hold.

Finally, after five minutes straight of fighting, Tails let go of the dog and stood up quickly. Dragon sat up and drew a hand back, preparing to launch the fox into the air. However, when he threw his hand out at the fox, nothing happened. Tails just stood smiling at the dog as Dragon tried again and again to attack Tails telekinetically, to no avail.

"What did you do to me?" demanded Dragon angrily.

"I went inside your mind and telepathically locked your psychic abilities," explained Tails nonchalantly. "You'll never be able to use them again."

"Really?" asked Shadow as he walked over to Dragon, taking out a pair of handcuffs and pulling him up onto his feet. "Never again?"

"Well, the lock _can_ be broken," said Tails with a shrug. "But the only people powerful enough to break it are me and Lucy. I doubt she'll be willing to do it for him."

"Nice," said Shadow as he started to put the handcuffs on Dragon. But before he could, Dragon jerked out of Shadow's grasp, elbowing him in the stomach and taking his gun out of his hand. Tails had barely enough time to register what had happened when Dragon grabbed him as he ran and turned quickly, taking Tails in his hostage hold and holding the gun to Tails' head.

"Drop it, Dragon!" shouted a voice from somewhere behind the dog and fox. Dragon turned, turning Tails with him, and came face-to-face with Nate, who had two pistols trained on the dog.

"Phoenix, you walk away now," commanded Dragon loudly. "Or I will drop one of you." He took the gun away from Tails and aimed it at Nate.

"You drop one of us and someone will drop you," argued Nate. "And I know that, right now, you just wanna make it out of this alive. You're wounded and bleeding, Dragon. You can't keep this up forever."

"Which is why I'm giving you a time limit," said Dragon warningly. He put the gun back up to Tails' head. "You both have two minutes to clear out, or I shoot. You two don't make a move at me, or I shoot." He turned his mouth to Tails' ear. "You be a good little hostage, or I shoot."

"G.U.N. will be here in less than three minutes," said Shadow. "How do you expect to escape?"

"Oh, don't worry about me, Shadow," said Dragon in a mock-reassurance tone. "I'll be _long_ gone by the time they get here. But you two have to leave first."

"Not happening," said Nate and Shadow in unison.

"Guys, go!" yelled Tails. "I can handle him."

"Yes, leave young Miles to me," said Dragon encouragingly. "I'll take good care of him. I'll even drop him off at Sonic's place after I'm done with him. You needn't worry about him a bit."

"And let you get away?" asked Nate. "Fat chance."

"Weigh the values here, gentlemen," said Dragon. "What's more valuable to you? The life of a young, brilliant fox with such a bright future ahead of him, or seeing me get the needle?"

"Like we can trust you to let Tails live if we let you go," said Shadow.

"Well, you can leave and find out," suggested Dragon smartly. "Or you can wait around and kill any chance he has. Minute and a half to find out."

"Get out of here!" ordered Tails. "I can take him. Leave and give me the chance to get away." Nate and Shadow didn't move a muscle. Tails watched the two of them in silence for what felt like an hour, but Tails had no idea how long it really was. Maybe a minute? He wasn't sure, but he did know that they were running out of time. His suspicions were confirmed by Dragon's announcement that broke the silence.

"Okay, ten seconds," he announced loudly. "Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven!-"

"Get outta here!" commanded Tails desperately.

"Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! On-" Dragon's voice trailed off as he watched Nate lower his gun. "Good. Cutting it kinda short, but good." He turned his attention to Shadow. "Now you're gonna teleport yourself and him outta here." Shadow nodded silently and walked over to Nate, grabbing his shoulder upon arrival. "Goodbye, gentleme-" He was cut off by the sound of two loud, dull, sickeningly gushy thuds that Tails knew all too well. He felt the blood spatter on the back of his head, neck, and shoulders and the grip on him loosen as Dragon fell to the ground, limp. Everyone turned to the source of the shots and saw Lucy standing a few yards away, holding her hand up in front of her in the shape of a gun, a serious, grim expression on her face.

"You stay the hell away from my boyfriend," she said quietly, threateningly.

"Lucy!" yelled Tails in excited relief. "Oh, thank God!"

"Sorry I couldn't join the fight earlier," she replied, quickly switching back to her usual attitude. "Sonic's fine, though."

"And, thanks to you, so am I," said Tails as he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. She returned the hug and pecked him lightly on the cheek. They both released and turned to look at Shadow and Nate, who were standing over Dragon's body, staring at it silently. "He dead?" Nate turned his head and nodded at the pair silently. Tails turned to Lucy and gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry. I know he was your father and..." His voice trailed off as she stared at the corpse thoughtfully.

"He was never my father," she said quietly, shaking her head slightly. "My father died the day my mom died; the day that his sanity snapped like a twig."

"Well, still," said Tails quietly. "Thank you." Their attentions were jerked back to Nate as he walked up to them. He looked at Tails.

"Okay, now that he's dead, we need to get you to the hospital before your eye dies, too," he said firmly. "I'll call and Shadow can take you two their while I stay here and take care of the military people, okay?"

"Oh, my god," said Lucy, apparently noticing the bandage around Tails' head for the first time. "What happened?"

"You don't wanna know," said Nate quickly.

"_You_ don't even know," argued Tails.

"And I know I don't wanna know," replied Nate. "I don't think she wants to know either."

"Do I?" Lucy asked Tails.

"I'll tell you later," he answered. "But I think we should get to the hospital." Nate nodded, pulled out his phone, and started back towards Shadow.

"Does it hurt?" asked Lucy.

"A lot more now than it did before when I was distracted by the fight," said Tails quietly. "Hopefully they can still save the eye, though. I have no idea what kind of damage it sustained, but I couldn't leave to go to the hospital during the fight. He would have killed Nate and Shadow and gotten away."

"Right," said Lucy slowly. They both turned again to see Shadow walking up to them.

"Okay, let's go," he said plainly. He held out his hand and Tails and Lucy both put their hands on his. He inhaled deeply and concentrated. "CHAOS-!" Then they disappeared in a bright flash.

* * *

><p>Tails silently stared at himself in the mirror, examining the damage that had been dealt him by his dead archenemy. The cuts around his eye had been stitched up, all leading to a bandage-patch that covered his entire eye socket. He didn't have to wear the patch, but the doctor had said that, what with all the stitching, he wouldn't be able to see very well, so he might as well cover up the somewhat mutilated looking, yet completely healthy, eye. It turned out that he was very good at keeping his eye shielded.<p>

His train of thought was interrupted by the sight of the reflection of a blue hedgehog walking up to his shoulder, resting a hand on it reassuringly. Sonic's upper torso was wrapped in bandaging where Jeremy had shot him. It had been over a day since the fight. Sonic had been released from the hospital that evening, around five, after having his wounds stitched up and being left to rest. The same had happened with Antoine and Tails, though Tails had been released that morning rather than at the same time as Sonic and Antoine. After they had been released, everyone had gathered at the Hedgehog apartment for a small celebration.

"He was right," said Tails thoughtfully. Sonic gave him a questioning look in the mirror. "I actually look like him with the patch."

"So, it's all over," said Sonic quietly. "Feels nice, right?"

"Yep," agreed Tails with a slight nod. He opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by the arrival of Sally, who walked into the room from the kitchen, carrying an armful of soda cans with her.

"Okay, I ordered a couple pizzas and I have some drinks here for everyone," she announced shortly, setting the sodas down on the coffee table. Sonic left Tails side and walked to the coffee table to retrieve a beverage, only to stop at the sight of the soda cans on the table.

"Yo, Sal, don't we have anything stronger than soda?" he asked, looking up at the squirrel with a cocked eyebrow.

"Not for you," said Sally, folding her arms across her chest. "You're on heavy pain killers and the doctor said not to drink any alcohol with them."

"What about us?" Sally flicked her attention to Nate, who was standing by Shadow on the other side of the coffee table. "We're not on pain killers."

"Sure, there are a couple beers in the fridge," replied Sally.

"Haha!" cackled Nate, mockingly pointing at Sonic, who returned the finger with an ice cold stare.

"You want one, Bunnie?" Sally turned to the half-metal rabbit who was sitting in the lounge chair by the door; Antoine sitting next to her, smiling happily despite the pain caused him by the stitches in his chest.

"Naw, thanks, Sally girl, I'll just get mahself a can o' soda," replied Bunnie happily.

"Oh, let me, ma chérie," offered Antoine politely, stopping her from getting up by laying his hand on her shoulder. She sat back down by the coyote and he reached a hand out, concentrating on the cans that sat on the table. As he did so, two slowly rose up into the air, levitating above the table. After a few seconds of hovering shakily in midair, they both slowly started to make their way towards the couple in the chair. Bunnie reached out and caught them both, handing one to Antoine with a chuckle.

"Good job, Sugah-'Twan," she said, pecking him on the cheek.

"Thank you," he said.

Shadow and Nate returned, each holding a bottle of beer in their hands. Tails was sitting on the couch next to Sonic, Lucy sitting in his lap, all three with a can of soda in their hands. Sally joined Sonic on the couch as Tails raised his can above his head, a wide smile on his face.

"To the death of Dragon," he announced loudly. "Never again will he plague the innocent with his murder and bloodlust."

"Good riddance to the sadistic bastard," added Sonic in agreement, raising his own can above his head. Everyone else raised their drinks and murmured statements of agreement.

A few minutes later, the pizzas arrived and everyone took a slice or two for themselves. For the next few hours, everyone just hung out. They ate pizza, talked with each other, and watched the HV together. Then, at around midnight, Tails announced that he was going to retire for the night and headed for his room. Lucy followed him after a few minutes, walking in to find him sitting on the side of his bed, looking at the picture his mother had left for him before she died. Lucy sat down beside him and put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.

"So, you never told me about that picture," she said, breaking the somewhat awkward silence that had settled in the room. Tails looked up at her and a smile flashed across his face for a second. Then he looked back at the picture as he put it back on the nightstand. He sighed lightly and looked back up at Lucy.

"It was my sixteenth birthday party," he said quietly. "My dad took me out for the day and we went flying in my plane. While we were gone, my mom put together the surprise party she had been planning. When we came back, everyone was there waiting." He chuckled lightly as he looked down at his shoes. "Scared the crap outta me." He looked back up at Lucy and smiled again. "Definitely one of the best days of my life."

"You're parents sound like they were cool," said Lucy quietly. "I wish I had gotten the chance to get to know them more." Tails' smile disappeared and he sighed heavily, looking back down at his shoes. "You want me to leave you alone to sleep?" Tails was silent for a few moments before he responded.

"No, I don't," he replied quietly. "I would really like it if you stayed."

"Then stay I shall," she said quietly. "Oh, yeah, one more thing. About what you said to me in the factory before you left." She turned his head towards her and smiled softly. "I love you, too." Then she pressed her lips to his and hugged him tightly. He returned the embrace and the kiss happily. They continued to kiss for a few minutes, only to be stopped when Tails decided to lay back on the bed, disengaging his lips from hers and looking up at her.

"Hold on," he said softly. "We're forgetting something." He turned his head away and Lucy followed his gaze. He watched the door intently for a moment, reaching his hand out at it. Then he snapped his fingers and the lock on the doorknob turned in the blink of an eye, locking the two foxes away from the outside world as they resumed their romantic embrace.

THE END

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, so was that a good ending? I thought so. Anyway, I'm kinda sad it's over. I liked writing this story. So, I wanna thank all my readers for, well, reading the story. I'd also like to thank the people who bothered to review, like Ghostkid33, Metalshadow1909, jakeroo123, and all the other reviewers who thought that my story was worthy of public review, so, thanks! So, same drill as always, review, favorite, tell friends, and never accept fruit from strange clowns. Thanks again and seeya!<br>**


End file.
